Bryan Jones R, Merry B J
AFRC Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics Research, Edinburgh Research Station, Roslin, Midlothian, EH25 9PS, Scotland.
The Wolfson Institute, University of Hull, Hull, HU6 7RX, N. Humberside, England.
Behav Processes. 1988 Mar;16(1-2):75-86. doi: 10.1016/0376-6357(88)90019-8.
The interpretation of open-field behaviour in chickens is unclear because conflicting effects of manipulating the social environment during testing have been reported. The behavioural and adrenocortical responses of chicks exposed individually or in pairs to an open field were, therefore, examined in the present study. Chicks tested individually showed significantly higher levels of activity, vocalization, defaecation and plasma corticosterone but took longer to ambulate and preened and pecked at the environment significantly less than their paired counterparts. There were no differences between treatment groups in either the durations of freezing or the latencies to vocalize. Social motivation is thought to be an important variable influencing the chicks' strategy but the present findings are wholly consistent with an interpretation of chicks' open-field responses based on the fear hypothesis.
鸡在旷场中的行为表现难以解释，因为有报告称测试期间操纵社会环境会产生相互矛盾的影响。因此，本研究考察了单独或成对置于旷场中的雏鸡的行为和肾上腺皮质反应。单独测试的雏鸡表现出显著更高的活动水平、发声频率、排便量和血浆皮质酮水平，但行走、梳理羽毛的时间更长，对环境的啄击明显少于成对测试的雏鸡。处理组之间在静止持续时间或发声潜伏期方面没有差异。社会动机被认为是影响雏鸡策略的一个重要变量，但目前的研究结果完全符合基于恐惧假说对雏鸡旷场反应的解释。
