Prenatal sensory experience affects hatching behavior in domestic chicks (Gallus gallus) and Japanese quail chicks (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

Abstract

Species-typical developmental outcomes result from organismic and environmental constraints and experiences shared by members of a species. We examined the effects of enhanced prenatal sensory experience on hatching behaviors by exposing domestic chicks (n = 95) and Japanese quail (n = 125) to one of four prenatal conditions: enhanced visual stimulation, enhanced auditory stimulation, enhanced auditory and visual stimulation, or no enhanced sensory experience (control condition). In general, across species, control embryos had slower hatching behaviors than all other embryos. Embryos in the auditory condition had faster hatching behaviors than embryos in the visual and control conditions. Auditory-visual condition embryos showed similarities to embryos exposed to either auditory or visual stimulation. These results suggest that prenatal sensory experience can influence hatching behavior of precocial birds, with the type of stimulation being a critical variable. These results also provide further evidence that species-typical outcomes are the result of species-typical prenatal experiences.

Behavioral Response of Embryos to Environmental Variation in Oviparous Vertebrates

“…偏侧性最初主要指人 类神经系统认知功能的非对称性 [60] , 但后来发现诸 多的脊椎动物都存在偏侧性行为. 例如, 光照条件下 孵化的鸟类胚胎在发育后期总是露出右眼接受到输 入的光线, 右眼接受光线的偏侧性行为还能影响交 配以及视觉分配的偏侧性 [61,62] . [63] .…”

Development of Sensory Organs and its Effects on Growth in Broiler Chicks

“…There have been studies on the reactions of chicks to hearing behavior during hatching and after hatching. Making a "clicking" sound or making a hatching sound artificially at certain times during the hatching affects the hatching time and hatching distribution (Vince 1968b, a;Vince et al, 1984;Rumpf and Tzschentke, 2010;Sleigh and Casey, 2014;Tong et al, 2015). Additionally, if the eggs are kept touching each other in the hatching basket, it is stated that the hatching occurs earlier than those that do not touch each other (Vince, 1973).…”

“…In many studies, it has been determined that the chick inside the egg hears the sound of the chicken and the chick easily finds its own mother after hatching (Edgar et al, 2015). However, some sounds are known to trigger hatching (Vince 1968b, a;Vince et al, 1984;White, 1984;Rumpf and Tzschentke, 2010;Sleigh and Casey, 2014;Tong et al, 2015). The ability to distinguish colors in chicken is highly developed.…”