The Effect of Intermittent Lighting Programmes on the Production of Market Chickens and Turkeys

Abstract

SummaryAlthough not all the reports dealing with the effects of intermittent lighting on the body weight of chickens agree, there is a definite indication that birds grown on intermittent light may be expected to be heavier than those grown on continuous light. This was particularly noticeable in the report of a field trial involving 220,000 broilers. One report noted interactions with respect to body weight between lighting programme and strain, ration and bird density which indicates the range of factors that may affect the response of chickens to intermittent light. With respect to feed conversion and mortality the results reviewed indicate a definite trend in favour of intermittent light which together with the results obtained with respect to body weight lead one to conclude that intermittent light will result in improved performance of chickens for market when compared to continuous light. Since all lighting programmes were not compared in one experiment it is difficult to ascertain which is the best. However, the author believes a programme of ½ to 1 hour of light combine with 2 to 3 hours of darkness such as 1L:3D will be the most satisfactory for chickens. No effect of lighting programme was noted on the carcass quality or percentage of leg abnormalities of chickens.Although there is much less data available on the effect of intermittent lighting on the performance of turkeys the results indicate that with respect to body weight, feed efficiency and litter conditions a system of 1L:3D may be superior. Again, there was no significant effect noted of lighting programme on carcass quality or percentage of leg abnormalities, although the intermittent light did result in a marked improvement in litter conditions.