Mothering during early development influences subsequent emotional and social behaviour in Japanese quail

The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of mothers on the emotional reactivity and social behaviour in young precocial Japanese quail. We used a classical method of maternal deprivation. Ethological tests and observations analysed and compared the behaviour of young artificially raised quail to that of young raised by adoptive maternal quail. After separation from mothers, brooded young were more fearful (frightened easily) in the presence of humans (human-observer tests) and more neophobic in novel environments (open-field and hole-in-the-wall tests) than young raised artificially. As chicks rarely expressed fear during the brooding period, no differences related to mothering could be observed at that time. In separation tests, brooded chicks jumped significantly more frequently than non-brooded chicks and later, observations of groups revealed that brooded chicks remained closer to one another than non-brooded chicks. Social motivation of brooded chicks appeared to be higher. These results indicate that, during their first days of life, mothers influence the emotional and social behaviour of their young.