Impact of natural and artificial prenatal stimulation on the behavioural profile of Japanese quail

Abstract

As the sensory systems of vertebrates develop prenatally, embryos perceive many environmental stimuli that can influence the ontogeny of their behaviour. Whether the nature and intensity of prenatal stimuli affect differently this ontogeny remains to be investigated. In this context, this study aimed to analyse the effects of prenatal auditory stimulations (natural stimulations “NS”: predator vocalisations, or artificial stimulations “AS”: metallic sounds) on the subsequent behaviour of young Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). For that, behavioural variables recorded during ethological tests evaluating emotional and social reactivity were analysed using a principal component analysis. This analysis revealed significant differences between the behavioural profile of stimulated chicks and that of non-exposed chicks. Indeed, chicks exposed to NS expressed more intense emotional responses in fearful situations, but less neophobia in the presence of a novel environment or object, whereas chicks exposed to AS appeared more sensitive to social isolation. Our original results show that the acoustic environment of embryos can influence the way young birds subsequently interact with their social and physical environment after hatching, and face challenges in changing living conditions.

The effects of transport of 18-day old hatching eggs on physiology and behaviour of slow growing broiler chicken

“…First, it could be of value to research which aspect of transport is most stressful (e.g. noise, temperature changes, vibrations or acceleration); in ovo chronic noise exposure, for instance, has been demonstrated to affect later behaviour in young quail (Mezrai et al, 2022). Temperature, including local differences in temperature, may also be a stressor.…”

“…Studies of effects of vibration in ovo reminiscent of transportation at day E1 have shown that vibrations during early embryogenesis (Donofre et al, 2017) or chronically between day E0 and day E15 (Shannon et al, 1994) can reduce the percentage of chicks hatching. Exposure to sound in ovo may also affect chick development, possibly to the benefit of hatchability in some cases of chronic sound exposure continuously throughout incubation (Donofre et al, 2020) but with long-term effects on behaviour seen in quail following chronic noise exposure in ovo (Mezrai et al, 2022). The auditory system in chicks is developed and responsive to a mature hearing range by day E16-E18 (Jones et al, 2006), making it likely that embryos can respond to transportation noise at day E18 as well.…”