Table of Contents
Page 3: Aim and Hypothesis
Page 4: Materials and Method
Page 6: Critique of Data
Page 7: Analysis of Data
Page 8: Explanation in Terms of Theory
Page 9: Conclusion
Aim
Animal behaviors develop as a result of the interaction between genetic and environmental influences. The purpose of this experiment is to imprint a chicken so it will think of you as its parent. Imprinting is the learning process observed in young birds and mammals, is the identification of an animal with another animal. Normally, it is a relationship between members of the same species, but it can occur, for example between a bird and a human, between members of different species. Imprinting can take place only during a particular period of the animal’s development – a specific time span, with chickens its hours after they hatch.
Hypothesis
Imprinting takes place during the early stages of development. By imprinting a baby chicken for two weeks, the chicken will see me as its ‘parent,’ and therefore respond to my movements. I will imprint the response to tapping and clucking. The chicken will follow my movements and as it becomes more accustomed to me, it will move quicker and without hesitation.
Materials
•Fish tank
•News paper
•Tea-towel
•2 small containers
•lamp
•chicken food/water
•A3 paper and A4 paper
•Shoe box
Methods
The Imprinting Process
The Essay on Can Animal Think
Intelligence and competency varies from one individual to another. In animals it is believed that they also have a varying degree of intelligence. It is believed that domestic animals as well as other animals have minds. They have varying level of perception and also their ability to think also varies. According to research done by Davis and Cheeke to investigate whether animal differ in relative ...
A.Initial Contact
1.Gently cup your hands around the animal and place it on a bench approximately 50cm in front of you.
2.Slowly release your hold on the animal ad gently withdraw your hands and draw them to your body. At the same time make soft clucking-type sounds.
B. Reinforce Communication Bond
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until the animal keeps following your hands,
4. Cup the animal in your hands and hold it for approximately 10 to 15 seconds.
5. Keep repeating steps 1 to 3 for 15 to 20 minutes.
6. Place the animal back in the shoe box container and allow it to feed for approximately one hour
7. Repeat steps 1 to 3 for 15 to 20 minutes
C.Final Imprinting of Animal
8. Gently place the animal on the floor.
9. Slowly and quietly move away from the animal and at the same time make soft clucking-type sounds.
10. Pick up the animal and gently cup it in your hands.
11. Repeat steps 8 to 10 for 15 to 20 minutes.
12. Return the animal to its enclosure fro approximately 4 hours.
13. Repeat steps 8 to 10 for approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
Setting up Residence
1.Line bottom of fish tank with newspaper
2.place folded tea-towel on once side of the tank
3.fill two containers (one with water and one with food) and place them at the opposite end of the tank
4.place lamp on top of the tank facing the bulb towards the tea-towel end
5.turn lamp on
6.place chicken into the tank and place lid on
Enforcing Parenthood
To enforce parenthood, the parent must continually be with the chicken. Each day, you must spend at least an hour with the chicken, holding it and playing with it. Also, feeding it shows characteristics of parenthood.
Experiment
1.take a piece of A3 cardboard and roll it up into a cylinder about 15cm in diameter
2.cut a circle with a diameter of 15cm(A4 paper) and sticky tape it to the top of the cylinder, allowing the circle paper to hang freely over the hole
3.place some food beyond the paper
4.put chicken at the open end of the cylinder, facing the closed end and tap fingers at the end
The chicken should respond to the sound of the tapping and go through the tunnel, push the flap at the end up and eat the food.
Critique of Data
The Term Paper on Cruelty To Animals 2
Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse or animal neglect, is the human infliction of suffering or harm upon non-human animals, for purposes other than self-defence or survival. More narrowly, it can be harm for specific gain, such as killing animals for food or for their fur, although opinions differ with respect to the method of slaughter. It usually encompasses inflicting harm for personal ...
Critique of Data
Observations:
Throughout the experiment and imprinting time, several observations were made. The relationship between the chicken and other animals (cats) was noted and observations follows.
The chicken was curious and was not scared of the cat. I placed the chicken in front of the cat and immediately the cat tried to swipe the chicken. After the first introduction between the two animals, the cat continuously looked for ways to get the chicken. Once the first cat saw the chicken, immediately after, the two other cats began trying to get at the chicken. The chicken was in a safe place so the cats never really had a chance to get at it. On the second meeting between the animals, the cat swiped and connected with the chicken. Once the chicken was hit, it was afraid and every time after this meeting the chicken would ‘cheep’ whenever it saw the cats.
Analysis of Data
Q. How did the control chicken react to the imprinted chicken? What differences in behaviour were noted?
A. The control chicken did not react to the clucking sounds and tapping. They did not react at all to humans, however, the relationship between the control chicken and the imprinted chicken was the same as the control chickens reaction to other control chickens. When the imprinted chicken ran towards the tapping of the fingers on the desk, the control chicken followed the imprinted chicken. This was not because of the sound but because of the nature which control chickens act as they are use to being in a group.
Q. If the imprinted chicken was to be placed with adult chickens, would it adapt to their way or would it require the attention of its imprinted human? How would the adult chicken react?
A. When the imprinted chicken was placed with three adult chickens, it did not respond to them. The imprinted chicken continued to follow the imprinted human. The adult chickens inspected the imprinted chicken curiously but did not hurt it. After a while, the control chicken was taken away from the adult chickens as it did not adapt to the environment and could not fend for itself. It was incapable of retrieving its own food and water and would have starved to death.
Q. Does a Chicken really get imprinted to the one parent or does it simply respond to stimulus?
A. From all observations, I have come to believe that the chicken simply learns a skill and continues to repeat this skill. I say that because the chicken also responded to other people tapping the desk, however, it still does not have the skills to live in an environment where it has to look after itself. It does not have the natural survival skills that chickens with biological parents have.
The Term Paper on Control Fire Humans Learned Goudsblom
Fire and Me: A Growing Experience Throughout human history, people have made discoveries and innovations which made their lives easier and more efficient. Many of these creations have advanced our culture, while others have paved the way for future advancements and inspired new ways of thought. One example of this is the discovery of fire, which revolutionized the way humans act and think. Fire ...
Q. Is it possible to imprint a chicken after a week of living? Why?
A. I do not believe it is possible to imprint a chicken to a human after one week. This is because from observations made during the time with the control chickens, it did not seem to respond to any stimulus from a human. About 40 minutes was spent with the control chicken and not one time did it respond to movements.
Explanation in Terms of Theory
It is well known that under certain conditions, newly hatched ducklings will follow and become socially bonded to the first moving object they encounter. With this experiment it was a human that was to imprint a newly hatched chicken. This bond seemed to be formed immediately, that it seemed to be irreversible and that it seemed to only develop during a brief “critical period” in the first day or so after hatching. In the natural environment, behavioral imprinting acts as an instinct for survival in newborns. It is important that the link between the parent and offspring is made immediately because if an attack occurs (predator attacks), the baby chicken can immediately go for cover with its parents therefore saving itself from being eaten.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it seems that chickens can easily be imprinted by humans and have the ability to follow stimulus. This was proven during the experiment where the chicken walked through the cylindrical tunnel and pushed the flap open to get the food. It knew where the food was because I had associated the tapping sound with food. Thus, I successfully imprinted and the chicken successfully completed my experiment, thus proving my hypothesis.
