Award details

Environmental decision-making in the domestic fowl

Reference	BBS/E/S/00000471
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Christopher Wathes
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	Silsoe Research Institute
Department	Silsoe Research Institute Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	439,672
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/04/2002
End date	30/09/2005
Duration	42 months

Abstract

The aim of this project is to understand cognitive processes involved in environmental decision-making in the domestic fowl using the experimental paradigm of self-control behaviour. Cognition is a specific research priority of the BBSRC's Animal Science Committee and FAWC (1993) and its understanding is crucial in motivational tests for welfare assessment. One important aspect is an animal's comprehension of time, which influences formation of expectations and anticipation of the end of a stressful event or access to a resource not currently available. Whether animals can perceive the longer-term consequences of a choice of action can determine how value is attributed to resources, how time and energy are distributed between them and has implications for how they are provided. These qualities will be investigated using a self-control procedure whereby maximisation is achieved by choice of a large delayed reinforcer over a small, immediate reinforcer. The objectives are 1) determine the predisposition of hens for self-control using a food resource; 2) compare the standard operant method (temporal presentation) with a novel Y-maze approach (spatio-temporal); 3) if fowl are predominantly impulsive, investigate possible causes (e.g. cognitive deficit for foraging strategy); 4) investigate methodological and environmental factors influencing self- control; 5) investigate influence of resource-type of self-control.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Animal Sciences (AS)
Research Topics	X – not assigned to a current Research Topic
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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