Question

How does the chick recognise her own mother?

Answer 1

A chick uses her four of the main senses to reach her mother. They are ecologically and psychologically related terms and used by chick and her mother.

Complete answer:
- Chick recognises her mother through the process called “Imprinting”. The process of Imprinting involves a combination of using vision, hearing, olfaction (smell) and touch.
- Just after the chick is hatched by her mother, she sensed the presence of her mother through Imprinting. This helps her in bonding with her mother. She also follows her mother through movement. The chick follows the movement of her mother to learn to move.
- The mother of the chick comforts the chick by making sounds like cluck soon after hatching it. This also helps in making bonds between them.
- Whenever a chick is very afraid or frightened or has a feeling of being in danger, it uses its visionary and auditory senses to reach her mother.
- The process of Imprinting is also common among human beings as well as other living beings. It is a term frequently used in ecology and psychology to explain automatic learning.
- Imprinting is characterised as phase-sensitive learning which occurs mostly at early stages of life. It is believed to have a critical period.
- Imprinting among animals and human beings involves copying of patterns of behaviour by the infants and younger ones to recognise their close ones.
- It occurs rapidly and is independent of the results of anyone’s actions and behaviour.

Note: Chick is like any other being which recognizes the emotional attachment with her mother through the senses and the memories available with her.