Hi there! My
name is Anna McLernon and I am a rising junior majoring in Applied Global
Conservation at George Mason University. I am working with Dr. Doris Davis of
the Psychology Department to study both chicken grain preferences and
rooster-to-chicken communication via food calls. Sometimes it is hard to
imagine the cognition abilities of animals, especially of animals that some of
us eat regularly. Even so, more and more research is being done to understand
different species for different reasons. Investigating that hens do indeed have
food preferences could mean farmers could give their chickens better well-being
and increased happiness, making it possible that the chickens could lay more
eggs. It is well-known that birds are connected to the dinosaurs that once
roamed the earth, so understanding more and more about Avian species could very
well lead scientists to understanding more about their prehistoric
counterparts!
For four to five
days every week, I drive an hour out to the beautiful countryside of Virginia
to Dr. Davis’ personally-owned farm and conduct my research there. I place two
bowls of different grains in a cage and let a hen eat whichever one she wants
for thirty minutes. I weigh the bowls before and after a chicken’s consumption
of the food to assess which grain she likes better. So far, extraordinarily,
all four hens have had a consistent preference of grain. Therefore, it is clear
to see that domestic chickens have an advanced choice behavior.
Meeting
Dr. Davis and conducting research on her farm with her beloved pets is an
amazing experience, thanks to the OSCAR program. It has taught me what research
with animals is like; a lot of chasing and capturing. It can be a bit of a
hassle, but it is also very funny to look back on how I’ve had to run after the
chickens. Working with animals can also be fragile, such as an animal getting
wounded and therefore not eating as much as they did before, hurting the data.
The many variables in research is what makes data-gathering in the field
harder, but this research project has given me an inside look on how to solve
my way out of a problem. Which, I think, is a very valuable skill indeed.
