T-maze behaviour in broiler chicks is not sensitive to right–left preferences, test order or time-of-day

Abstract

There is substantial individual variation in the time taken by broiler chicks to traverse a T-maze and thereby reinstate visual contact with their companions. Chicks completing this task quickly (high performance, HP) subsequently grew faster in the laboratory and on farm, exhibited greater sociality, and showed less pronounced adrenocortical responses to a partial water immersion stressor than did their slower (low performance, LP) counterparts [Marin, R.H., Jones, R.B., 1999. Latency to traverse a T-maze at 2 days of age and later adrenocortical responses to an acute stressor in domestic chicks. Physiol. Behav. 66, 809–813.; Marin, R.H., Arce, A., Martijena, I.D., 1997. T-maze performance and body weight relationship in broiler chicks. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 54, 197–205.; Jones, R.B., Marı́n, R.H., Garcı́a, D.A., Arce, A., 1999. T-maze behaviour in domestic chicks: a search for underlying variables. Anim. Behav. 58, 211–217.]. Given its simplicity, rapidity and non-invasiveness, the T-maze test might represent a commercially attractive selection criterion for future breeding programmes if this behavioural trait exhibits sufficient genetic variability. However, it is first necessary to ensure that performance in the T-maze is not sensitive to potentially confounding variables, such as existing preferences to turn right or left at the junction of the maze, the order of testing, or the time of day. In the present study, 240 newly hatched, mixed-sex broiler chicks (Cobb) were randomly allocated to 12 groups of 20 upon receipt. When they were 2 days of age a group of 20 chicks was placed in the brood area of each of two T-mazes at 0830 h; the brood areas were positioned on either the right or the left sides of the mazes. After acclimatisation, one chick from each group was placed in the isolation chamber of the T-maze and we recorded the time it took to traverse the maze. This procedure was repeated until all 20 chicks and all 12 groups had been tested. The locations of the brood areas were rotated after each block of 20 tests. Testing was completed in the same day and two groups were tested at each of the following times: 0900, 1030, 1200, 1330. 1500, and 1630 h. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) revealed no detectable effects of: positioning the brood area on the right or the left side of the T-maze ( F 1,200=0.06, P<0.80), test order ( F 19,200=0.48; P<0.96), or time-of-day ( F 5,234=0.44; P<0.81). These findings strongly suggest that the future classification and possible selection of broiler chicks according to their T-maze responses are unlikely to be confounded by right–left preferences, test order, or the time of day.