Explore all the information onPoultry lighting
Light is an essential aspect of poultry production. In most housing systems, artificial light is utilized to maximize production in pullets, layers and breeders. Today, a variety of different bulbs are available to illuminate the inside of a poultry house, all of which have benefits and shortcomings. Understanding the different lighting options available for poultry, as well as the terminology and management of light, is essential to achieve the best production. Light is critical for egg production and pullet growth. Domestic poultry see and respond to a different range of light color spectrum and have different spectral intensity responses than humans. While humans respond to light from around 400–750 nm, chickens can see UV-A light (315–400 nm) in addition to 400–750 nm. Additionally, the magnitude of sensitivity for red and blue spectra is much higher for chickens with additional peaks of light sensitivity around 480 nm and 630 nm.
Introduction
The first research work in lighting management for commercial poultry was conducted by Morris in the 1960´s. This work described the lighting management for egg-type layers, a tool that had not been used before. Since then, egg-type layers have lost their seasonal response to daylength (Morris et al., 1995) and do not respond physiologically to light stimuli as other birds do. This change in...
LED lighting specialists, Greengage Lighting, has launched the worlds first light-emitting diode (LED) light bulb designed and manufactured specifically for the egg and broiler segments of the poultry industry, which dramatically reduces lighting-related energy consumption by up to 90 per cent and incorporates important animal welfare benefits. Rated at 4W, it replaces a 25W tungsten filament lamp and claims to reduce lighting energy consumption by 90. It was developed and...
Solid sidewall poultry housing has created a situation where lighting is now a major cost center. Loss of natural daylight means any light birds receive is now provided artificially with bulbs, which have an energy cost associated with them. Currently, incandescent, fluorescent, high pressure sodium, cold cathode and others lighting options are available to poultry producers but choosing the correct one can be difficult. Since April 2006, the Applied Broiler Research Farm (ABRF) has evaluated...
In the production as well as the rearing periods, the lighting programme greatly influences the feed consumption. In addition, during all its life, a chicken remains sensitive to changes in the duration of illumination. The objective of the lighting programmes during production period...
Chickens are sensitive to changes in the duration of illumination, and these will influence the age of sexual maturity. In addition, feed consumption is greatly influenced by the duration of day length. Lighting programmes have, therefore, different objectives. During rearing, they allow us to...
In tropical and subtropical countries, the layers are subjected to important heat stress. This heat stress can occur during long periods. The lower feed intake noticed during these periods is the result of the bird’s reduced ability to lose heat. The lower growth rates during...