Abstract
Chicks (Gallus gallus domesticus) learn to peck soon after hatching and then peck in rapid bursts or bouts with intervals of non-pecking activity. The food sources may be static such as seeds and chick crumb, or mobile such as a mealworm. Here, changes with age in pecking toward chick crumb and a mealworm were measured.Chicks were reared in pairs and their pecking of crumb food was video recorded in their pair housed environment, from food presentation, every third day from day 8 (wk 2) to day 65 (wk 10). Peck rate at crumb food reached maximum levels at day 32 (wk 5), and then declined, fitting a quadratic model, with no sex, sex of cagemate, or box order effects. Within bouts the peck rate was higher and it increased to day 41 (wk 6) and then declined, and here males pecked faster than females. A change in dietary protein concentration from 22% to 18% at day 28 (wk 4) had no effect on subsequent peck rate.Pecking at and consumption of a mealworm in pair housed chicks were measured weekly from wks [5 to 12]. The latency to first worm peck and latency to swallow decreased to wk 8 and increased thereafter. The peck rate to first wormpeck and number of pecks to swallow increased to wk 8 and then declined paralleling the changes with crumb food. The increase in peck rate is coupled with an increase in efficiency in worm catching.The results are consistent with the view that the improvement in pecking ability and accuracy compliments change in nutritional requirement best served by an invertebrate food (IF) source requiring speed to achieve feeding success, especially with live prey. When this food source is no longer crucial these associated skill levels decline. An appreciation of the role of domestic fowl in controlling insect populations, at farm level, that are often vectors in disease spread is lacking.
Highlights
All five of the jungle fowl species are classified as highly omnivorous, eating a wide variety of food items of plant and animal origin throughout the year with seeds often only a minor component of the diet (Klasing, 2005)
Peck rate changes are significantly over the 10 weeks of the study for both total duration of pecking which increased to day 32, and declined and within bout pecking which increased to day 41 and declined
Within bout pecking was higher in males and this may compensate for greater time spent in vigilance behaviour in male chicks (Murphy, 2005)
Summary
All five of the jungle fowl species are classified as highly omnivorous, eating a wide variety of food items of plant and animal origin throughout the year with seeds often only a minor component of the diet (Klasing, 2005). Gallinaceous and especially Gallus gallus young consume high levels of invertebrate food (IF) during the first two months of life and levels decline thereafter, regardless of insect availability (Savory, 1974; Savory, 1980; Savory, 1989; Savory, Wood-Gush & Duncan, 1978) It should be pointed out following Savory (1989) that while the proportions of IF decline with age in the growing chick the quantities consumed can continue to increase especially within the first two months of life, and the increasing quantities will require more time spent eating. This is important as insects provide protein and vitamin B12, essential for growth that are almost non-existent in plant proteins (Klasing, 1998)
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