The role of perception in the causation of dustbathing behaviour in domestic fowl

Abstract

Female domestic fowl, Gallus gallus domesticus, were reared from hatching with (peat-reared) or without (wire-reared) access to dry peat. When 8 weeks old, they were housed individually in cages and at 9 weeks the incidence of dustbathing on the wire cage floor was recorded (baseline). When 12 weeks old, the pullets were given one of three treatments: (1) peat was placed below the cage so that the bird could see it, but not interact with it (Below); (2) peat was placed in front of the cage so that the bird could peck and bill-rake in it (Front); or (3) peat was placed in the cage so that the bird could interact fully with it (In). The birds' responses to the peat were recorded for 1 h. During baseline, more components of dustbathing behaviour on the wire were recorded in the wire-reared pullets suggesting that birds' perception of a dustbathing substrate is influenced by previous experience. During the test, the proportion of pullets dustbathing differed between rearing conditions on In and Front but not Below. There were significant interactions between rearing and treatment on the amount of the components of dustbathing behaviour performed; there were no differences between rearing groups on Below, and peat-reared pullets performed more than wire-reared on In. These results indicate that the sight of a dusty substrate may contribute to the initiation of dustbathing. Fowl also appear to hatch with a predisposition which enables them to ‘recognize’ a substrate suitable for dustbathing.