Overview:

Domestic chickens (Gallus gallus), have tetra-chromatic vision, which allows

them to see ultraviolet light in addition to the red, green, and blue of human vision. A
chickens behavior and emotion correlates with colors, such as the color red creates an
instinctive behavior and aggressive emotion. The relationship could be useful in
formulating effective feed. A y-maze, in conjunction with dyed chicken food, determined
chickens feeding preferences. Tests checked preference (using small rations) and avoidance
(using large multicolor rations). The chicken was more attracted to the colors red and
yellow and least attracted to the color blue. These results can be used for dying chick
starter, medication, or water different colors such as red or yellow to reduce mortality from
dehydration and starvation. This could also be used as an alternate method for meat
producers to grow a healthy flock, without the use of hormones, which force hunger upon
the animals. Two of the coloration preference tests also involved wild birds that came to the
test site. The wild birds were also found to prefer the colors yellow and red with a raised
liking of the color green. An alternate test that was solely conducted on the wild birds used
suet and a dyed center. The results of the five day suet data collection show that the birds
were eating more out of the dyed center of the red and yellow samples. This information
could be used to dye backyard birdfeeders and birdhouses to attract different birds to the
establishments.

DO CHICKENS HAVE A
PREFERENCE ON THE COLOR
OF FOOD THEY EAT?
Figure 13: The y-maze before
tests were preformed.

Objective: To determine whether or not chickens have a preference on the

color of food they eat.

Discussion:

Methodology:

Figure 6: A chicken in the y-maze not during

testing.

Figure 7: Chickens during the large sample

dyed food tests.

Introduction:
Previous
Previous studies
studies suggest
suggest that
that birds
birds have
have better
better vision
vision than
than humans
humans do
do ("Chickens
("Chickens
'One-Up'
'One-Up' Humans
Humans in
in Ability
Ability to
to See
See Color",
Color", 2010).
2010). This
This is
is due
due to
to their
their ability
ability to
to see
see
ultraviolet
ultraviolet light
light as
as well
well as
as all
all of
of the
the wavelengths
wavelengths that
that humans
humans can
can see
see which
which are
are red,
red, green,
green,
and
and blue.
blue. Cones
Cones are
are the
the photoreceptors
photoreceptors in
in the
the eye
eye which
which detect
detect different
different wavelengths
wavelengths of
of
light.
light. Chickens
Chickens eyes
eyes are
are very
very adept
adept one
one reason
reason for
for this
this is locations
locations of
of the
the cones
cones in
in their
their
retina,
retina, in
in which
which no
no two
two cones
cones are
are located
located next
next to
to each
each other
other to
to maximize
maximize their
their vision.
vision. In
In
humans
humans the
the cones
cones that
that detect
detect the
the colors
colors red,
red, blue,
blue, and
and green
green are
are used
used in
in different
different
combinations
combinations to
to formulate
formulate everything
everything we
we see.
see. Chickens
Chickens being
being able
able to
to see
see aa fourth
fourth
wavelength
wavelength of
of light
light may
may not
not seem
seem very
very significant,
significant, but
but adding
adding the
the fourth
fourth wavelength
wavelength of
of
light
light does
does not
not just
just add
add aa fourth
fourth color
color to
to their
their vision
vision but
but instead
instead alters
alters every
every color
color they
they see
see to
to
make
make itit different
different from
from what
what we
we see
see (Figure
(Figure 1)
1) (Mike,
(Mike, 2012).
2012). It
It would
would be
be the
the same
same type
type of
of
change
change if
if one
one of
of the
the visible
visible wave
wave lengths
lengths was
was taken
taken away
away from
from humans,
humans, instead
instead of
of seeing
seeing
anything
anything with
with blue
blue in
in it,
it, itit would
would be
be aa combination
combination of
of red
red and
and green.
green. Other
Other studies
studies have
have
also
also exemplified
exemplified aa color
color connection to
to behavior
behavior and
and emotions
emotions (Color
(Color and
and Vision
Vision Matters,
Matters,
2013).
2013). Red
Red in
in humans
humans triggers
triggers an
an aggressive
aggressive and
and energetic
energetic emotion,
emotion, while
while yellow
yellow creates
creates aa
happy
happy feeling
feeling in
in aa lighter
lighter tone,
tone, and
and an
an irritated
irritated emotion
emotion in
in aa darker
darker tone.
tone. Based
Based on
on this
this
knowledge,
knowledge, an
an objective
objective was
was created
created to
to determine
determine whether
whether or
or not
not the
the chickens
chickens have
have aa
preference
preference on
on the
the color
color of
of food
food they
they eat
eat not
not only
only because
because they
they see
see itit differently,
differently, but
but also
also
because
because of
of correlations
correlations between
between color
color and
and emotions
emotions and
and behaviors.
behaviors. Chickens
Chickens are
are
carnivores,
carnivores, when
when they
they see
see the
the color
color red
red an
an instinctive
instinctive behavior
behavior is
is triggered
triggered (Color
(Color and
and
Vision
Vision Matters,
Matters, 2013).
2013). When
When the
the color
color is
is perceived
perceived on
on other
other birds
birds the
the chicken
chicken will
will attack
attack
because
because red
red symbolizes
symbolizes an
an easier
easier target
target due
due to
to injury.
injury. The
The hypothesis
hypothesis was
was then
then made
made that
that
chickens
chickens and
and wild
wild birds
birds would
would have
have aa preference
preference toward
toward the
the color
color red
red because
because of
of the
the
energetic
energetic and
and instinctive
instinctive emotion
emotion and
and behavior
behavior itit triggers.
triggers.

The
The first
first test
test to
to test
test the
the hypothesis
hypothesis was
was conducted
conducted by
by using
using aa y-maze.
y-maze. The
The yymaze
maze was
was hand
hand built
built and made symmetrical as a control. A sheet of glass was
was laid
laid on
on
top of the y-maze so the chicken would not fly out and data could still be collected. A
stop watch was
was used
used to
to measure
measure the
the amount
amount of
of time
time itit took
took the
the chicken
chicken to
to choose,
choose, or
or
cross one of the lines in the y-maze
y-maze (Figure
(Figure 4),
4), and how long it took them
them to
to start
start
eating the chosen color (Figure 5) Figure 3 shows the total number of times a color
was
was chosen.
chosen. Two
Two colors
colors were tested twice
twice with
with one
one chicken
chicken once
once with
with aa color
color (red)
(red) on
on
the left,
left, and
and another
another color
color (blue)
(blue) on
on the
the right.
right. Then
Then the
the colors were
were switched,
switched, so that
that
(red) was
was on
on the
the right
right and
and (blue)
(blue) was
was on
on the
the left,
left, to
to make
make sure
sure the
the chickens
chickens were
were
choosing the color, not the side. Each set of colors were
were tested
tested on
on three
three different
different
chickens to
to have
have six
six tests
tests per
per color
color combination.
combination.
The
The next test was the large
large sample
sample test,
test, which
which was
was performed
performed on
on both
both the
the
chickens and
and wild birds that came to my porch. This
This test
test was
was run
run to
to see
see if
if there was a
correlation between chickens and other birds. It was also performed to determine
whether
whether or
or not
not the
the chickens
chickens would
would not
not only
only prefer
prefer a color
color but
but whether
whether or not they
would consume
consume the food in larger quantities,
quantities, and
and eat
eat more
more of
of itit than
than their
their original
original
naturally dyed food. For each set of samples
samples made,
made, the
the process was
was recorded. The
masses
masses of
of the
the food
food samples
samples were
were weighed
weighed before
before and
and after
after the
the six
six hour
hour trials
trials to
to
determine the amount of food consumed.
The
The final
final test
test was
was performed
performed solely
solely on
on the
the wild
wild birds
birds that
that came
came to
to my
my porch.
porch.
Suet was made with a mixture of fat, peanut butter, corn, and bird seed. It was then
separated into five different containers and the middle section of the sample was dyed
to see
see if
if they
they would
would eat in
in or
or around
around the
the color.
color. The
The mass
mass was
was also
also collected
collected each
each day
day to
to
watch
watch the
the change.
change. The
The samples
samples were measured for five consecutive days.

Figure 10: Chickens during the

large sample dyed food tests.

Figure 8: The y-maze set up prior to a

test.

Figure 11: The samples and colors

created for the y-maze tests.

Figure 9: The y-maze with a chicken

prior to a test.

Figure 12: The samples created for the

suet dyed food tests.
Color Choices

Suet tests over 5 days

25

450
400
20
350
300

Figure 1: The difference between what a chicken sees, and

what we see. The left is what we see, the middle is a bird
under only UV light and the right is a rendering of what a
chicken might see (Mike, "Chicken Vision.").

15

250
Mass in grams
200

Frequency of Color chosen

10

150

21
18

Conclusion:

16
100

Table 1: Raw data and trends found throughout all tests.

Method:

Y-maze

Most Frequent Color:

Red

Eaten the Most by

Chickens:
Eaten Most by Wild
Birds:
Eaten the Most out of
Center Dyed Portion:

Red

Fastest Times for

Choosing Color:

Blue

13
5

50

Dyed Sample Tests:

Suet Tests:

Days

10

blue

violet

6
0

Figure 2: The amount of suet eaten by wild birds over a 5 day span with the starting measurements, the mass was
measured in grams.

Yellow

red

natural

yellow

green
Food color

Figure 3: The number of times a color was chosen in the Y-maze tests, an equal number of trials were run for each
color choice.

Green

Time to Make Decision on Color Sample

Red and Yellow

40.00

Choosing Dyed Food in Y-maze

Time Taken for Chicken to Chose Sample
35.00
(in seconds)

Fastest Times for Eating Blue

Chosen food:

Time tken for chicken to eat sample

(in seconds)

30.00

Table 2: The outcomes of the y-maze.

Red
1
Blue

Yellow
3

Natural
5

50

20.00

Natural

Green
2

Yellow
4

Green
4

40

36.01

Violet
2

33.35

15.00

30

Violet
3

Natural
2

Red

Blue
5

Natural
3

Red

4
Yellow

4
Blue

Green
1
Blue
5

Yellow
3

Violet
4

Green
1

32.79
5.00

Natural
1

Yellow
1

Green

natural:

yellow:

green:

blue:

violet:

0
red:

5
Blue

13.12

0.00

Color of Dyed food

Red

18.55

3.2
red:

Violet
2

28.44

10

Violet
4

43.71

20

10.99

10.75

Figure 4: The time it took for the chicken to choose a color in the y-maze, or the time it took them to get from the
base of the Y to cross one of the lines.

The
The domestic
domestic chicken (Gallus gallus)
gallus) prefers
prefers the
the colors
colors red
red and
and yellow,
yellow,
wild
wild birds
birds that
that took
took part
part in this experiment also
also preferred
preferred the
the colors
colors red
red and
and
yellow
yellow to
to the
the other
other test
test colors.
colors. This
This information
information could
could be
be useful
useful for
for farmers who
who
want
want their
their animals
animals to
to gain
gain weight
weight in
in a more
more humane
humane way.
way. With
With the
the knowledge
knowledge that
that
birds are
are attracted
attracted to
to these colors, the colors can be
be used
used for
for other
other various reasons.
Painting a bird
bird feed container or house these colors could be used to attract the
bird. Other
Other uses for these findings
findings are
are dying
dying chick
chick starter
starter and
and water
water different
colors such as
as red
red or
or yellow
yellow to reduce
reduce mortality
mortality from dehydration and starvation.
Medication could
could also
also be
be dyed
dyed different
different colors
colors to make the chickens attracted to it
to make
make them
them eat
eat it.
it. Finally
Finally you
you could
could dye
dye water
water or
or different
different food containers
containers to
to
help hydrate a dehydrated chicken. Further research should be conducted on the
percentage intake of food dye on birds before incorporating it into a regular diet.
A continuation of this project could be
be to
to see
see if
if chicks
chicks raised
raised off
off of
of different
different
colored food grow
grow faster
faster because
because they
they eat
eat more
more because
because they
they are
are attracted
attracted to
to the
the
color.

References:

57.55

10.00
17.35

Red

70

60

25.00

Blue Vs.
went for blue__
out of 6
Red Vs.
Went for red ___
out of 6
Yellow Vs.
Went for yellow
___ out of 6
Green Vs.
Went for Green
___ out of 6
Natural Vs.
Went for Natural
___ out of 6
Violet Vs
Went for Violet
___ out of 6

10

0
1

Natural

In
In the
the results for
for the
the suet
suet tests,
tests, the
the red
red and
and yellow
yellow samples were the only
samples
samples in
in which the wild
wild birds ate
ate out
out of
of the
the dyed
dyed center.
center. In
In the
the dyed
dyed food
food tests
tests
the
the wild
wild birds
birds ate
ate more
more of
of the
the natural
natural food
food in
in all
all colors
colors except
except yellow.
yellow. Green and
and
Yellow
Yellow were
were also eaten
eaten the
the most
most during
during the
the suet
suet tests.
tests. For
For the
the wild
wild birds,
birds, yellow
yellow
seemed
seemed to
to have
have the
the highest
highest preference
preference over
over all
all for their
their tests,
tests, with
with red
red and
and green
green
not
not far
far behind.
behind. As
As for
for the
the chickens the y-maze showed that they
they had
had the
the highest
highest
preference
preference for
for the
the color
color red.
red. Even
Even though
though the
the chickens
chickens had
had the
the highest
highest average
average
time
time to
to eat
eat the
the red,
red, itit only
only took
took them
them an
an average
average of
of 10.75
10.75 seconds
seconds to
to choose
choose the
the
color
color red
red in the
the y-maze.
y-maze. The
The tests
tests from
from the
the dyed food
food show
show that
that the
the chickens
chickens ate
ate
more
more of the red than any other color except yellow. Showing that yellow and red
were
were the
the favorites
favorites of these tests as well as the suet tests.
Therefore
Therefore the
the most
most preferred
preferred colors
colors from
from these
these tests
tests were
were red
red and
and yellow,
yellow,
while
while blue
blue was
was the
the least favorite.
favorite. Blue was chosen the least in the y-maze tests.
The
The quick
quick times
times for
for choosing
choosing and
and eating
eating the
the color
color blue
blue could
could have
have been
been due
due to
to
quick
quick and
and flustered
flustered decisions
decisions by
by the chicken. Another reason for the quick times
may
may be due to the color being chosen the fewest number
number of
of times
times the
the average
average was
was
then
then based off of fewer numbers. The blue was also not preferred in the dyed food
tests
tests in
in either
either chickens
chickens or
or wild
wild birds,
birds, while
while red
red and
and yellow
yellow were.
were. In
In the dyed food
food
tests
tests blue
blue was
was the least preferred
preferred color
color by
by the
the wild
wild birds
birds and
and one
one of
of the
the least
least
preferred
preferred by the
the chickens.
chickens. The
The data
data suggests
suggests that
that red
red and
and yellow
yellow would be
be the
the
most
most preferred
preferred colors
colors followed
followed by
by green
green or natural then violet, and blue at the end.

natural:

yellow:

green:

Colors of Dyed food

Figure 5: The time it took the chicken to choose a color and start eating the chosen sample in the y-maze.

blue:

violet:

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