The effects of temperature on the behaviors of freeranging chicken in the alpine grassland

An experiment was conducted to observe the effects of different temperature on the behaviors of freeranging chicken in the alpine grassland during June-July, 2009. This study showed that chicken began to walk when the temperatures (shaded air temperature 1 cm above soil surface) was 3-8 ℃, and started foraging behavior while temperatures was 10-37 ℃, and began to courtship once temperatures reached 15-38 ℃. Quiescence was often observed at the lowest temperature with the below 5 ℃ and highest site temperature with the over 38-42 ℃, and the highest frequency of foraging was often observed when temperature was of 15-27 ℃. Theres no significant difference between frequency of activities in morning and evening (P0.05). Males rested, courted, and groomed significantly more frequently than females did, and females foraged significantly more than that of males (P0.05). Activity patterns, especially quiescence and foraging, were influenced much more by environmental temperature than by time of day.