Key Laboratory for Crop and Animal Integrated Farming, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Precision Animal Breeding, Institute of Animal Science, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China.
Chifeng Academy of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Sciences, Chifeng 024050, China.
Poult Sci. 2024 Sep;103(9):104042. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2024.104042. Epub 2024 Jul 2.
The light provide during incubation can influence hatching characteristics (hatching time, hatchability, etc.) and embryo development in chickens, geese, and turkeys. However, relevant studies on this factor in pigeons are lacking. This study investigated the effects of in ovo photostimulation during embryogenesis on hatching performance, squab quality, and embryo development in pigeons. 400 eggs from paired- bred pigeons were randomly distributed into 4 incubation lighting treatments, with 2 replicates per treatment. The treatments included dark as a control (NL), 12-h light, and 12-h dark photoperiods of white light (WL), red light (RL), and green light (GL) (100 lx at egg level) during the first 15 d of incubation. A total of 1,600 eggs in 4 batches from White King pigeons were used. The results showed that hatching time of the WL group was significantly shorter than that of the dark light group (P < 0.05). The hatchability of fertile eggs in the WL group was significantly higher (P < 0.05), whereas the hatchability of fertile eggs in the RL group was significantly lower (P < 0.05) than that of in the control group. Light stimulation had no effect on time to 90% hatching or average hatching time (P > 0.05). In addition, the hatch window was not extended by light stimulation (P > 0.05). The group incubated under GL showed an increase in embryo weight and relative leg muscle on embryonic d 14 and the hatching day compared to the dark incubation (P < 0.05). Green light stimulated the heart and liver development during the early and middle stages of embryogenesis. It was concluded that white light stimulation during embryogenesis accelerated the hatching process, whereas monochromatic green light had a positive effect on embryo development. Our findings provide important guidance for developing light protocols for pigeon egg incubation.
孵化期间提供的光照会影响鸡、鹅和火鸡的孵化特性（孵化时间、孵化率等）和胚胎发育。然而，关于鸽子这一因素的相关研究还很缺乏。本研究调查了胚胎发生期间胚内光刺激对鸽子孵化性能、乳鸽质量和胚胎发育的影响。从配对繁殖的鸽子中随机选择 400 枚种蛋，分为 4 个孵化光照处理组，每个处理组设 2 个重复。处理组包括黑暗对照（NL）、12 小时光照和 12 小时黑暗的白光（WL）、红光（RL）和绿光（GL）光周期（孵化第 15 天前卵水平 100 lx）。共使用了来自 White King 鸽子的 4 批、1600 枚种蛋。结果表明，WL 组的孵化时间明显短于黑暗组（P<0.05）。WL 组的可孵化种蛋孵化率显著高于对照组（P<0.05），而 RL 组的可孵化种蛋孵化率显著低于对照组（P<0.05）。光照刺激对 90%孵化时间或平均孵化时间没有影响（P>0.05）。此外，光照刺激并没有延长孵化窗口（P>0.05）。与黑暗孵化相比，GL 组在胚胎第 14 天和孵化当天的胚胎体重和相对腿部肌肉增加（P<0.05）。绿光在胚胎发生的早期和中期刺激心脏和肝脏发育。研究结论认为，胚胎发生期间的白光刺激加速了孵化过程，而单色绿光对胚胎发育有积极影响。我们的研究结果为制定鸽子种蛋孵化光照方案提供了重要指导。
