Social and spatial organization of male behaviour in mated domestic fowl

Movement by Domestic Fowl in Commercial Flocks

“…However, the results are consistent with studies in smaller flocks, in which feeding and other aspects of management were very different Guhl, 1969, Hughes et al, 1974;Pamment et al, 1983). By contrast, the home range behavior described in a flock of 80 chickens by McBride and Foenander (1962) appears to have been exceptional (see Introduction).…”

“…They predicted that chickens in large flocks would generally restrict their movements to small areas in which they could recognize other individuals. Subsequent studies on flocks of up to 600 hens have also found that birds do not use space evenly (Van Enckevort, 1965;Hughes et al, 1974;Pamment et al, 1983). This has generally been accepted as support for McBride and Foenhander's (1962) prediction, but that prediction has not been confirmed.…”

“…This has generally been accepted as support for McBride and Foenhander's (1962) prediction, but that prediction has not been confirmed. Most individuals use all the area available, at least occasionally, and home ranges are usually either ill-defined Pamment et al, 1983) or maintained by only a few birds (Hughes et al, 1974). Furthermore, even these flock sizes are small compared to those in which most hens are kept commercially.…”

Zoonotic Ecosyndemics and Multispecies Ethnography

“…Based on seven months of observation of the daily activities of feral domestic chickens (in flocks that have been feral for 40 years), McBride, Parer, and Foenander report that while young roosters will attempt to intrude on the territories of established males, "No serious fights were observed during any of these intrusions, though the males made several rushes at each other" (1969:135). This observation is supported by farmers with mixed gender flocks (Luttmann and Luttman 1976) and under experimental conditions (Pamment, Foenander, and McBride 1983). Rather, domestic gamecocks have been carefully and selectively bred by people to enhance aggressive tendencies that evolved primarily to scare away rivals (Beebe 1936).…”

Reproductive behaviour in poultry: Implications for artificial insemination technology

“…Dominant cockerels also mate with females that subordinates have just mounted (Ottinger and Soares, unpublished data). Mating interference may result when subordinate males attempt to mate either in close proximity to a dominant male or within the dominant male's territory; territorial behaviour of this latter type is more common in less crowded flocks (Pamment et al, 1983). The result in a large breeder unit could be only a few males mating and presumably a number of females not mated at all because of the low number of active males.…”