Pan Chenghao, Xiang Rong, Pan Jinming
College of Quality and Standardization, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China; College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
College of Quality and Standardization, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
Poult Sci. 2025 Jan;104(1):104656. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2024.104656. Epub 2024 Dec 10.
Light is an important factor affecting the feather pecking behavior in poultry. To evaluate the quality of lighting in production of a local broiler breed, this study was designed to investigate the effects of light color on the growth performance (body weight, feed conversion ratio and upper beak length), welfare parameters (walking step, plumage damage and hormone level) relating to feather pecking and their correlations. One hundred and twenty 49-day-old Youhuang broilers were randomly distributed into 3 lighting treatment groups (warm white, cold white and red) and reared for 4 weeks. The results showed that the lighting had no significant effect on the growth performance (P > 0.05). The daily walking steps of birds in cold white group were greater than birds in warm white and red group at 8 (P < 0.05) rather than 9 to 11 (P > 0.05) weeks of age. Compared with birds in red group, the birds in cold white group had lower plumage scores (P < 0.05) and the birds in warm white group had similar plumage scores (P > 0.05). Lower scores meant severer plumage damage. Moreover, the plumage scores of backs and wings were both lower than those on tails (P < 0.05). The serotonin levels in blood of birds in warm white group were greater than those in cold white group (P < 0.05) but lower than those in red group (P < 0.05). However, during the entire study, there were no correlations among body weight gain ratios, upper beak length gain ratios, average daily walking steps, total plumage scores of different body parts, and serotonin levels of 24 selected birds in three light treatment groups (P > 0.05). Considering the friendliness of white light to human eye, warm white light should be recommended to reduce pecking behavior in production.
光照是影响家禽啄羽行为的重要因素。为评估本地肉鸡品种生产中的光照质量，本研究旨在调查光颜色对生长性能（体重、饲料转化率和上喙长度）、与啄羽相关的福利参数（行走步数、羽毛损伤和激素水平）及其相关性的影响。将120只49日龄的油黄肉鸡随机分为3个光照处理组（暖白色、冷白色和红色），饲养4周。结果表明，光照对生长性能无显著影响（P>0.05）。在8周龄时，冷白色组鸡的每日行走步数大于暖白色组和红色组的鸡（P<0.05），而在9至11周龄时无显著差异（P>0.05）。与红色组相比，冷白色组鸡的羽毛评分较低（P<0.05），暖白色组鸡的羽毛评分相近（P>0.05）。较低的评分意味着更严重的羽毛损伤。此外，背部和翅膀的羽毛评分均低于尾部（P<0.05）。暖白色组鸡血液中的血清素水平高于冷白色组（P<0.05）但低于红色组（P<0.05）。然而，在整个研究过程中，三个光照处理组中24只选定鸡的体重增加率、上喙长度增加率、平均每日行走步数、不同身体部位的总羽毛评分和血清素水平之间均无相关性（P>0.05）。考虑到白光对人眼的友好性，建议使用暖白色光以减少生产中的啄羽行为。
