Abstract
The behavioral trait of peeping was chosen as being possibly a trait that bears some relationship to poultry welfare. A study was done to assess the genetic variability underlying peeping behavior. Sires of two commercial stocks of White Leghorn-type chicken were bred to White Leghorn-type dams from one experimental flock. At two days of age, the female chicks were tested individually for peeping and movement in an environment without mirrors (PEEP1, MVT1) and then in an environment with mirrors (PEEP2, MVT2). The difference in rate of peeping in the two environments (DIFF) as well as defecation during the test were also recorded. Sire stock differences were found for PEEP1 and DIFF, but not for PEEP2. No significant variability was found among sires within stocks, but such variability did exist among dams for all three peeping variables and also for MVT1. In consequence, heritabilities for the peeping variables based on sire components of variance did not differ from zero, but those based on dam components of variance were moderately large ( h 2=0.46, 0.25 and 0.21, respectively). Phenotypic correlations among the variables recorded are presented and the significance of the results is discussed.
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