Effect of Colored Fluorescent Light on Growth, Cannibalism, and Subsequent Egg Production of Single Comb White Leghorn Pullets

Abstract

LITTLE information is available on the influence of colored lights on the performance of pullets maintained under colored lights for long periods of time. Dakan (1936) observed satisfactory egg production when pullets were exposed to red and yellow light, but egg production decreased when hens were exposed to blue light for two months. Carson et al. (1958) found that hens kept under red, green, or cool white light laid significantly more eggs than hens which were exposed to normal daylight during an 11-week period. Platt (1952, 1953) improved egg production by supplementing daylight with dim red light during the night. McGinnis et al. (1966) supplied pullets with filtered incandescent light from day of age and observed reduced egg production when hens were exposed to a narrow band of light from either the red, green, or blue portions of the spectrum. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the influence . . .