Conspecific discrimination and social preference in the laying hen

Hens were presented with a choice between a number of individual conspecifics in a multi-choice test arena. They chose to spend significantly more time aggregating with familiar conspecifics rather than unfamiliar conspecifics. The time spent aggregating with familiar birds did not significantly change from morning to afternoon while the time spent aggregating with unfamiliar conspecifics significantly increased. Unfamiliar birds therefore became familiar during the day, showing that experience affects subsequent choice.