RESEARCH ▶▶▶
Light colour affects feed uptake and performance
BY SALAH ESMAIL G
enerally birds prefer to consume their feed under white light because it helps them identify texture differences which they cannot see under other colours. The feed intake response and growth per-
formance of chickens reared under other light colours may not always be as good as with white light. Better results could be obtained, however, when light colours interact with other factors, such as light intensity and feed colour. The choice of a lighting colour system, therefore, should be made based on the intended production target or the production problem to be solved. In some studies feed intake and growth performance were improved under blue or green lights provided at a high – rather than low – intensity. In other studies an improvement was also obtained with red-dyed feed given under blue light, but no other combinations of light and feed colours have yet been examined.
Growth rate and carcass weight Green light stimulates the growth of birds at an early age and switching to a different light colour at 10 or 20 days of age may further stimulate growth. It was recommended that shifting green light to blue and blue to green improved growth and performance in broilers. Birds raised under blue light had the highest carcass weight, while birds raised under green light had the lowest carcass weight. Birds raised under
Table 1 – Effects of lighting colour on carcass weight.
Light Treatment White Blue
Green Red
Source: B. T. Hogshead (2015)
Avg. Carcass Weight (g) 3,045 3,15
2,745 2,95
The colour of light is a vital exogenous parameter and is now considered an important management tool in poultry production. Different colours have different effects on the performance of chickens depending on whether a given colour of light is used continuously throughout the production cycle or alternated with other colours.
red and white light treatments showed similar carcass weights (see Table 1).
Behavioural problems Blue or green light may be used to keep birds calm by reduc- ing hypothalamic gonadotropin production and hence reduc- ing hyperactivity, pecking damage and energy costs, without compromising the welfare of the birds. In other cases, poultry producers may be prompted to use red light to control canni- balism because birds cannot see the blood stimulant under red light. Red light, however, should not be used as the sole basis for alleviating cannibalism problems. Rather, other management and feeding strategies should also be adopted for better con- trol; including beak trimming, lowering the brooding temper- ature, removal of severely injured birds, providing access to feed and water at all times and balancing the diet appropri- ately for age and type of chickens reared, etc.
Table 2 – Broiler blood parameters under different light colours.
Light colour NVD Titer
T3 (n.g./dL) T4 (n.g./dL) Jaar
White 0.87 1.51 0.99 2010
Source: T. M. Balabel and others (2017) ▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 2, 2022 29
Green 3.09 1.52 1.00 2015
Blue 3.15 1.52 1.01 2020
Green x Blue 3.76 1.52 1.1
2025 2030
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