Abstract
The feeding and vigilance behavior of domestic chickens (
Gallus domesticus) was examined in Bali and Sulawesi in Indonesia and in the highlands of New Guinea. The null hypothesis that there were no difference in the time devoted to vigilance as a function of location or condition (sex, age, or motherhood) was tested. Chicks spent significantly more time foraging (and less being vigilant) than did roosters or hens, and hens with baby chicks spent the least amount of time foraging and devoted more time to vigilance than did the other classes of chickens. Mother hens in Indonesia devoted more time to vigilance than did those from New Guinea, and I attribute this difference to the cultural norm of ‘pay-back’ in New Guinea where if you kill or injure someone else's livestock, the penalty is far greater than merely replacing one chicken.