James Charlotte, Asher Lucy, Herborn Katherine, Wiseman Julian
Department of Animal Sciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire, UK.
Centre for Behaviour and Evolution IoN, Newcastle University, Henry Wellcome Building, Newcastle, UK.
Appl Anim Behav Sci. 2018 Dec;209:55-64. doi: 10.1016/j.applanim.2018.10.002.
Qualities of the light environment are important for good welfare in a number of species. In chickens, UVA light is visible and may facilitate flock interactions. UVB wavelengths promote endogenous vitamin D synthesis, which could support the rapid skeletal development of broiler chickens. The aim of the study was to investigate the impacts of Ultraviolet wavelengths (UV) on welfare indicators in broiler chickens. Day-old Ross 308 birds reared under commercially representative conditions were randomly assigned to one of three lighting treatments: A) White Light Emitting Diode (LED) and supplementary UVA LED lighting (18-hour photoperiod); B) White LED with supplementary UVA and UVB fluorescent lighting providing 30 micro watts/cm UVB at bird level (on for 8 h of the total photoperiod to avoid over-exposure of UVB); C) White LED control group, representative of farm conditions (18-hour photoperiod). Welfare indicators measured were; feather condition (day 24, n = 546), tonic immobility duration (day 29, n = 302), and gait quality, using the Bristol Gait Score (day 31, n = 293). Feather condition was improved in male broilers in the UVA treatment (A), compared to the control treatment (C). Birds in the UVA treatment had shorter tonic immobility durations compared to the control treatment (C), suggesting lower fearfulness. Broilers reared in UVA (A) and UVA + UVB (B) had better Bristol Gait Scores compared to the control (C). Together these results suggest UV may be beneficial for broiler chicken welfare. While treatment A and B both provided UVA, the improvements in welfare indicators were not consistent, which may be due to exposure time-dependent beneficial effects of UVA. The modification of commercial lighting regimes to incorporate UVA wavelengths for indoor-reared broiler chickens would be an achievable change with significant positive impacts on bird welfare.
光照环境的质量对许多物种的良好福利很重要。在鸡中，UVA光可见，可能有助于鸡群互动。UVB波长可促进内源性维生素D的合成，这有助于肉鸡骨骼的快速发育。本研究的目的是调查紫外线波长（UV）对肉鸡福利指标的影响。在具有商业代表性的条件下饲养的1日龄罗斯308肉鸡被随机分配到三种光照处理之一：A）白色发光二极管（LED）和补充UVA LED照明（18小时光照周期）；B）白色LED搭配补充UVA和UVB荧光照明，在鸡的水平提供30微瓦/平方厘米的UVB（在总光照周期的8小时内开启，以避免UVB过度暴露）；C）白色LED对照组，代表农场条件（18小时光照周期）。测量的福利指标包括：羽毛状况（第24天，n = 546）、强直性静止持续时间（第29天，n = 302）和步态质量，使用布里斯托尔步态评分（第31天，n = 293）。与对照处理（C）相比，UVA处理（A）的雄性肉鸡羽毛状况得到改善。与对照处理（C）相比，UVA处理的鸡强直性静止持续时间更短，表明恐惧程度更低。与对照（C）相比，在UVA（A）和UVA + UVB（B）条件下饲养的肉鸡布里斯托尔步态评分更好。这些结果共同表明紫外线可能有利于肉鸡福利。虽然处理A和B都提供了UVA，但福利指标的改善并不一致，这可能是由于UVA的暴露时间依赖性有益效果。对商业照明方案进行修改，为室内饲养的肉鸡纳入UVA波长，将是一个可行的改变，对鸡的福利有显著的积极影响。
