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Simple Summary: The poultry industry recognizes that handling day-old chicks in commercial hatcheries can lead to long-lasting changes in their behavior. However, these hatchery-related stresses are more intense and complex than those measured by traditional behavioral tests. This study developed a new behavioral handling test for day-old chickens by incorporating concepts from behavioral tests used with both young and adult birds. In the new test, 96 two-day-old chicks from seven breeds of native Japanese and Western chickens were used to evaluate 10 behavioral traits, including vocalization frequency and responses to human interaction. The results classified chicken temperaments into three categories: bustle, aggression, and timidity. These categories were used to classify the seven breeds. This new handling test provides a valuable tool for understanding the behavior of various chicken breeds and offers insights into their complex behaviors. It is well known in the poultry industry that fear and stress experienced during the handling of day-old chicks in commercial hatcheries can have long-lasting effects on their behavior later in life. These hatchery-related stresses are more intense and complex than those encountered in traditional behavioral tests. Consequently, a single behavioral test may not be sufficient to measure hatchery stresses and chicken temperament. In this study, we developed a new behavioral handling test for day-old chickens, which incorporated concepts from established behavioral tests used with both young and adult birds. The new test assessed 10 behavioral traits, including vocalization frequency and responses to human interaction. It was conducted on 96 two-day-old chicks from seven breeds of native Japanese and Western chickens. The results of the principal component analysis classified chicken temperaments into three distinct categories: bustle, aggression, and timidity. Using these categories, the seven breeds were classified into five groups, each with distinct temperaments. This study highlights the reliability and value of the new handling test in characterizing the temperaments of various chicken breeds and provides insights into the complex behaviors of chickens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Domestic quail have been used for egg and meat production and laboratory experiments. Although the wild ancestors of quail live around the Japanese Archipelago, there is a lack of field studies, especially on reproductive sites. Wild-derived strains of several species have been established to study their domestication history and genetic control. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate wild quails and create wild-derived quail strains. Field observations during the breeding season have provided insights into the wild quails' migration, reproductive, and social behaviors. Morphological traits were measured in 31 quails (2019–2022 population). By comparing them with the 1914 and 1970 populations, the morphological traits of wild quail stocks in Japan might have been relatively stable over the latest ten decades. In 2021–2022, each two captured wild (Wild) males were mated with both the domestic (Dom) females and hybrids of Dom and Wild (W50) females. We established wild-derived strains of quail (W50 and W75), providing opportunities for future conservation use as wild quail stocks and experimental use in basic science. Domestic quail are used as both farm and laboratory animals. As the wild ancestor of quails is "endangered," field studies are needed to conserve them. If wild-derived strains of quail are established, they will be unique genetic resources for both farm and laboratory animals. The purpose of the present study was to conduct a field study and create wild-derived quail strains using the breeding stocks in Tokachi, Hokkaido, Japan. Field observations from 2019 to 2022 indicate that wild quails migrate and stay at reproductive sites from late April to late October. Our estimations of the approximate ages of the observed and captured quails imply that adult males have intermittent reproductive opportunities from May to August. Morphological traits collected from adult and juvenile quails in the 2019–2022 population were similar to those previously reported for Japan's 1914 and 1970 populations. Using natural mating of captured wild males and domestic (Dom) females, we established the W50 and W75 strains, which possessed 50% and 75% genetic contributions from the wild stocks. These unique genetic resources can be applied for future conservation and experimental use to understand the domestication history and genetic basis of quantitative traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]