As it turns out, despite the commercial pressures which say otherwise, red is not a chicken's preferred colour. One experiment involving different coloured nest boxes showed that 50.5% of chickens showed preference to yellow for nesting. Also, blue and green stimulate the hypothalamus of a chicken the most. However, although red is not the most attractive colour to chickens, the light wavelengths penetrate the skull and feathers more effectively and stimulate the hypothalamus. Studies have shown that this stimulation can lead to decreased aggression, decreased consumption, and increased production. Hence the abundance of red chicken squiptment found with suppliers. Jim Weiss, a farmer by Mundare Alberta explains, "Red light sources are used in chicken coops for three months. The red light prevents the chickens from pecking each other which increases productivity. Also, the red light sources are needed longer for laying hens."
One man even develiped red contacts for chickens, a venture which failed since it was found that the chickens struggled to put them in, also, the dust and other particles floating around in a barn would get in the contacts damaging the chicken's eys.
In conclusion, red may not be as popular as blue, green or yellow which chickens, however, the significant effects of the red wavelengths dominate the chicken's preferences to you and your wallet!
