Results

When combining all play behaviours, there was a significant effect of breed (P < 0.001), age (P < 0.001) and breed × age interaction (P = 0.010), where overall, the White Leghorns (WL) played more than the Red Junglefowl (RJF) during the testing period (WL = 64.51 times/test; RJF = 28.30 times/test) (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Mean number of occurrence (+/-) of all play behaviours.

For locomotor play, there were significant effects of breed (P < 0.001), age (P < 0.001) and breed × age interaction (P < 0.001), where overall, the Red Junglefowl (RJF) performed the behaviours more than the White Leghorns (WL) during the testing period (RJF = 11.84 times/test; WL = 8.61 times/test) (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Mean number of occurrence (+/-) of locomotor play behaviours.

For play fighting, there were significant effects of breed (P = 0.007), age (P < 0.001) and breed × age interaction (P < 0.001), where overall, the Red Junglefowl (RJF) performed the behaviours more than the White Leghorns (WL) during the testing period (RJF = 10.35 times/test; WL = 4.69 times/test). (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Mean number of occurrence (+/-) of play fighting behaviours.

For object play, there was a significant effect of breed (P < 0.001), age (P < 0.001) and breed × age interaction (P < 0.001), where overall, the White Leghorns (WL) performed the behaviours more than the Red Junglefowl (RJF) during the testing period (WL = 51.21 times/test; RJF = 6.11 times/test) (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Mean number of occurrence (+/-) of object play behaviours.