Color as a Stimulus for Feed Consumption

BOTH young and mature chickens, in common with most birds, belong to that group of animals which have a relatively well developed ability for visual discrimination. This ability extends to a differentiation between certain areas of the color spectrum (Guhl, 1962; Gunter, 1964; Kilham et al., 1968; Malott, 1968; and Taylor et al., 1969). The fact that this ability does exist presents certain opportunities to use color as a natural stimulus for desirable responses in many behavioral patterns. The present study was designed to investigate whether a response in feed consumption could be achieved by the use of colored feed and feeders and also the effect of the position of the feeders on consumption. MATERIALS AND METHODS Four hundred pure strain White Leghorn pullets, which had been in production for approximately eight weeks, were randomly distributed into four groups and placed in four litter floor pens. Each group had access…