PATTERNS OF FEEDING IN THE DOMESTIC CHICK .2. OPERANT SITUATION

Data are presented on the patterning of meals in chicks in an operant situation requiring key pecks for continued access to food during the course of a meal. As the operant requirement is made more difficult meal size decreases, rather than increasing as in the rat. In a further experiment it is shown that patterns of pecking within a meal reveal no evidence for positive feedback operating over the first few bouts of a meal as seen in mice. A hypothesis is presented that explains both the increase in meal size with increasing operant requirement seen in the rat and the absence of such an effect in the chick. Further predictions of this hypothesis are outlined. Finally a brief discussion of functional implications in relation to search patterns is given. © 1979.