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Animal Behaviour
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Volume 70, Issue 1, July 2005, Pages 1-11

Citing articles
Can domestic fowl, Gallus gallus domesticus, show
self-control?
S.M. Abeyesinghe * , C.J. Nicol †, 1 , S.J. Hartnell *, 2 , C.M. Wathes *

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An important aspect of cognition is whether animals live exclusively in the

present or can anticipate the future. Defined as self-control, the ability to choose
a large, remote reinforcer over a small, proximate reinforcer available at the same
frequency has been examined in a number of species, often proving difficult to
demonstrate. We investigated self-control for food in domestic fowl using a
standard two-key operant task and an equivalent two-choice return maze (TCRM)
task. When hens chose between a 2-s delay to a 3-s feed access (impulsive) and a
6-s delay to a 7-s feed access (self-control), they appeared unable to discriminate
in the TCRM but were impulsive in the operant task. We explored reasons for not
choosing self-control in the operant task, first by examining the relation between
feed access time and actual feed intake. A second operant experiment examined
whether failure to show self-control could be attributed to an inability to
combine the delay and access (quantity) reward information associated with
choices to reach overall predictions of value. New hens chose between a 2-s delay
to a 3-s feed access (impulsive) and either a 22-s delay to a 22-s feed access
(standard self-control) or a 6-s delay to a 22-s feed access ( jackpot self-control).

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 While hens were impulsive in the standard condition, they showed significant
and pronounced self-control in the jackpot condition, eliminating the possibility
of an absolute cognitive constraint. Impulsive behaviour can instead be explained
by temporal discounting: perceived depreciation of reward value as a function of
the uncertainty associated with delay. Implications for welfare are discussed.

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1
C. J. Nicol is at the Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Langford House, Langford,
North Somerset BS40 5DU, U.K.

2
S. J. Hartnell is now at the School of Health Science, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2
8PP, U.K.

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Copyright © 2005 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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