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Potential domestication and tameness effects on prosocial behaviour in chickens
Linköping University, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Biology. Linköping University, Faculty of Science & Engineering. (AVIAN Behaviour Genomics and Physiology Group)
Linköping University, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Biology. Linköping University, Faculty of Science & Engineering. (AVIAN Behaviour Genomics and Physiology Group)ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5491-0649
2023 (English)In: PLOS ONE, E-ISSN 1932-6203, Vol. 18, no 6Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Prosocial behaviour is pronounced in humans and prevalent in some non-human animals, however, the occurrence of the trait in chickens has not yet been investigated. Here, we studied the occurrence of prosociality in four different lines of adult female chickens. To explore the effects of domestication, chickens of the domesticated layer White Leghorn (WL) and the ancestral Red Junglefowl (RJF) were compared. Additionally, to explore the role of tameness, Red Junglefowl selected for high (RJF HF), or low (RJF LF) fear of humans were also studied. The hens were all tested in a prosocial choice task adapted from a previous study conducted on rats. Each individual was first trained to differentiate between a compartment where itself and a companion received food treats simultaneously (representing a prosocial choice), and one where only itself received the treat. Following training, each bird was tested in a free-choice set-up. No occurrence of prosociality was found at group level in any of the lines, however, our results suggest that the trait may occur in some individuals, and that domestication and increased tameness may have increased its prevalence, although alternative explanations such as side bias and social competition cannot be ruled out. Since this study is the first of its kind, further research is required to make any definite conclusions.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE , 2023. Vol. 18, no 6
National Category
Behavioral Sciences Biology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-197594DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287213ISI: 001023897900142PubMedID: 37352138OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-197594DiVA, id: diva2:1796097
Note

Funding Agencies|Carl Tryggers Stiftelse [CTS 21:1533]; Swedish Research Council [2019-04869]

Available from: 2023-09-11 Created: 2023-09-11 Last updated: 2023-12-28

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