Fowl sociometry: Social discrimination and the behaviour of domestic hens during food competition

Abstract

A stable food competition order was established in a flock of 8 hens. Each hen was then provided with a choice of competitor by allowing it to choose between 2 of its group-mates in 10 consecutive competitive trials. All hens were given a choice of every possible pairing of the remaining 7 birds in the flock. Many statistically significant social discriminations were recorded. Although there was a low correlation between the total number of choices for each bird and competitive rank, there was a significant tendency for birds to avoid higher-ranking hens when individual “dominant-subordinate” choices were analysed. Subjects could also assess relative rank rather than merely distinguishing between birds more or less dominant than themselves. Implications of these findings for the interpretation of competitive orders in domestic fowl are discussed.