Effect van bezettingsdichtheid op (de ontwikkeling van) het paargedrag en de technische resultaten bij vleeskuikenouderdieren = Effect of stocking density on (the development of) sexual behaviour and technical performance in broiler breeds

This report describes the effects of a reduced stocking density during rearing and/or production on mating behaviour and technical performance in broiler breeders

15 White-tailed Ptarmigan

Lagopus leucurus (Richardson) 1831 Other vernacular names: Snow grouse, snow partridge Range: From central Alaska, northern Yukon, and southwestern Mackenzie south to the Kenai Peninsula, Vancouver Island, the Cascade Mountains of Washington, and along the Rocky Mountains from British Columbia and Alberta south to northern New Mexic

15 White-tailed Ptarmigan

Lagopus leucurus (Richardson) 1831 Other vernacular names: Snow grouse, snow partridge Range: From central Alaska, northern Yukon, and southwestern Mackenzie south to the Kenai Peninsula, Vancouver Island, the Cascade Mountains of Washington, and along the Rocky Mountains from British Columbia and Alberta south to northern New Mexic

"Prairie Grouse", Tympanuchus cupido × phasianellus, Hybridization on Manitoulin Island, Ontario

Greater Prairie Chickens started their range expansion from Wisconsin about 1900. They reached Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by 1925 and completed colonization of Manitoulin Island by 1945. In the fall of 1932, an irruption of Northern Sharp-tailed Grouse from the Hudson Bay Lowlands occurred. Residents of Manitoulin distinguished the two species and reported the presence of “square-tails” and “sharp-tails” in the winter of 1932-1933. There is no specimen evidence or verbal reports that Northern Sharp-tailed Grouse reached Michigan during that irruption. Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse were in the northern peninsula of Michigan by 1930. In 1941, Michigan Department of Natural Resources made a planting of 37 Prairie Sharptailed Grouse on Drummond Island. Thence they spread east and the first lek was found at the west end of Manitoulin Island in 1952. By 1960, these birds had virtually colonized the whole island. Development of a hybrid index from the morphology of specimens of skins and skeletons from Manitoulin indicated that more than 50% of all birds in the 1960s were hybrids. In Michigan, less than 1% of the birds necropsied or checked in hunters’ bags were hybrid. It seems likely that ethological isolation broke down on Manitoulin Island. The booming display of the Prairie Chicken and the tail rattling display of the Sharp-tailed Grouse can be broken down into their component parts. They appear to be homologous to five discrete displays of the Spruce Grouse, grouped in different patterns in each of the two lek species. There was little hybridization between Prairie Sharptailed Grouse and Prairie Chickens that had lived sympatrically for thousands of years. Northern Sharp-tailed Grouse had probably never lived sympatrically with Prairie Chickens and the evolution of the perception of species distinctions may not have evolved to the point where hybridization was restricted to a rare event

Who You Calling a Birdbrain?

The world’s most intensively farmed animal, chickens have long been underrated for their smarts. What you don’t know about this incredible species may surprise you

Thinking chickens: a review of cognition, emotion, and behavior in the domestic chicken

Domestic chickens are members of an order, Aves, which has been the focus of a revolution in our understanding of neuroanatomical, cognitive, and social complexity. At least some birds are now known to be on par with many mammals in terms of their level of intelligence, emotional sophistication, and social interaction. Yet, views of chickens have largely remained unrevised by this new evidence. In this paper, I examine the peer-reviewed scientific data on the leading edge of cognition, emotions, personality, and sociality in chickens, exploring such areas as self-awareness, cognitive bias, social learning and self-control, and comparing their abilities in these areas with other birds and other vertebrates, particularly mammals. My overall conclusion is that chickens are just as cognitively, emotionally and socially complex as most other birds and mammals in many areas, and that there is a need for further noninvasive comparative behavioral research with chickens as well as a re-framing of current views about their intelligence

Studies of the Behavior of Gamecocks

Scientific and popular accounts of cockfighting are reviewed, and cultural and psychological aspects of the sport are examined. Information is presented on breeding and husbandry of gamecocks, fight preparation, rules and types of fights, gambling practices, and legal aspects of cockfighting. The scientific literature on the agonistic behavior of gamecocks, descriptive studies of fighting in chickens and the factors which determine fight outcome. In Chapter III data recorded at actual cockfights are presented. This includes information on fighting behaviors, fight length, number of pittings (rounds) per fight, pitting length, the effect of weight on outcome, and survivorship. Of particular interest are observations of immobility responses similar to manually induced tonic immobility (TI) or animal hypnosis. This response occurred in 33 of 86 fights and in 227 of 1,528 pittings. The response was relatively more frequent in longer fights suggesting that fatigue and exhaustion may facilitate the response. It was also found that mobile animals are attacked with greater frequency than immobile animals suggesting a possible function for the behavior. A possible evolutionary relationship between fatigue, TI and submissive postures is discussed. In the second part of the dissertation are presented the results of three experiments designed to examine strain difference between gamecock chicks and chicks of two commercial strains, White Leghorns (WL) and Rhode Island Reds (RIR), in regard to TI and open field behavior. Previous research has shown that WLs show greater TI duration than RIRs and are more emotional in terms of open field behaviors. It was hypothesized that the GCs would show greater TI than the other strains because of greater selection pressure for the response both during cockfights and in predator-prey encounters. In Chapter IV the literature pertaining to several aspects of TI is reviewed; theoretical issues, methodological difficulties and problems associated with operationally defining the response, and genetic influences. Experiment 1 was designed to assess strain differences in duration and susceptibility to TI. The subjects were two-week old WLs, RIRs, and GCs which were housed and tested in single strain groups using a 25 min ceiling TI duration. The results did not support the hypothesis that the GCs would show greater TI duration and susceptibility. Although there was a significant difference between WLs and RIRs and between the GCs and RIRs in regard to duration, there was not a significant difference between the WLs and GCs. A significant difference was found between the strains in the number of subjects becoming immobile on the first induction trail with 53% of the RIRs, 83% of the WLs, and 87% of the GCs showing the response on the first trail. Experiment 2 was a replication of Experiment 1 using a longer ceiling duration (120 min) and with the subjects house in mixed strain groups. As in the first experiment there was a significant difference between the RIRs and the WLs in TI duration. In this experiments, however, the GCs shifted and were significantly different from the WLs but not the RIRs. Data on susceptibility to induction procedures were consistent with Experiment 1 with 30% of the RIRs, 76% of the WLs, and 70% of the GCs becoming immobile on the first trail. Experiment 3 examined strain differences between the three strains in open field behavior using five and six day old chicks. Five dimensions of open field behavior were recorded: latency to move from center square, ambulation, latency to peep, number of peeps during the trial, and number of defecations. On all of the dimensions there were significant differences between WLs and RIRs. The game chicks were found to differ from the RIRs in ambulation and number of defecations, and they differed from the WLs in latency to peep and number of peeps

WPA News 26 (1989)

WPA News (November 1989), number 26 Published by the World Pheasant Associatio