Scientific control of light in closed laying hens

Scientific and reasonable supplementation of light can not only promote the normal development of laying hens, reduce morbidity and mortality, but also prolong laying time, increase egg production, and improve the breeding efficiency of laying hens. On the contrary, improper lighting will lead to dysplasia of laying hens, which will not only affect the laying rate and egg production during the whole laying period, but also increase the morbidity and mortality of laying hens, causing huge economic losses to breeders. The light control technology of the closed laying house is introduced as follows for reference.

? 1. Control of lighting time

1. The rearing period (0-6 weeks old). Light is very important to the feeding, drinking, exercise and health of chicks, but if the light time is too long, the chicks will mature too early and affect the egg laying performance in the future; if the light time is too short, it will affect the activity and feeding of chicks, resulting in their growth retardation. Generally speaking, the chicks take 23 hours of light and 1 hour of darkness in the first three days after coming out of the shell to make them adapt to the dark environment and avoid panic in case of a power outage; after 4 days of age, the light is reduced by 30 minutes a day, and the light time is reduced to 18 hours when they are 14 days old; starting from 15 days old, the light is reduced by 2 hours per week, and by the end of 6 weeks, it is reduced to 10 hours.

two。 The breeding period (7-20 weeks old). If the light time in this period is too long, it will promote the laying hens to mature too early; if the light time is too short, it can lead to delayed sexual maturity, obesity, serious eggs, high dystocia and mortality, and a decrease in the total amount of eggs. Therefore, 10 hours of light was given at the age of 7 to 17 weeks, and the light was increased by 1 hour per week from 18 weeks to 12 hours at 20 weeks.

3. Laying period (21 weeks old to elimination).

Increasing the light time during the laying period can stimulate the secretion of sex hormones in laying hens and promote egg production, but increasing the time too long will increase the damage rate of eggs; on the contrary, reducing the light time will inhibit the secretion of sex hormones in laying hens and reduce egg production. Therefore, the light time during the laying period should be increased gradually, that is, from the age of 21 weeks, the light should be increased by 30 minutes per week, until the peak of egg production reaches 16 hours, and then maintain 16 hours. Close to the knockout period (about 59 weeks old), the light should be increased by 30 minutes per week to 17 hours.

? 2. Control of light intensity

1. The rearing period (0-6 weeks old). If the light is too strong in this period, it will affect the nervous function of chicks, causing feather pecking, anal pecking and other bad habits; but the light is too weak, and it is not convenient for chicks to eat and drink. Generally, the light intensity can be higher in the first three days or the previous week, using 20 lux (0.16 watts per square meter of incandescent bulb is 1 lux). After that, the light intensity decreases gradually with the increase of age, and it is 5 lux at the end of 6 weeks old.

two。 The breeding period (7-20 weeks old). Excessive light in this period will make the breeding chicken restless, pecking, prolapse of anus and neuroticism; but too weak light will reduce the feed intake and drinking water of the breeding chicken, resulting in poor growth and delay the time of starting production. The suitable light intensity during the breeding period is 5: 10 lux.

3. Laying period (21 weeks old to elimination).

The light intensity of this period is too large, which will not only waste electric energy, but also make laying hens restless, neurotic, easy to panic, prone to brawl, pecking and anal prolapse; the light intensity is too weak to stimulate laying hens, thus affecting egg production. In general, the light intensity during the laying period should be 10: 20 lux.

? Third, the choice of lighting color

The chicken hypothalamus contains extraretinal photoreceptors, which respond differently to different wavelengths of light stimulation. Red light is disadvantageous to the growth and development of chicks and breeding hens, which will delay their sexual maturity, but it is beneficial to laying hens, which can make laying hens tend to be quiet, increase egg production and reduce pecking fetish. green light can accelerate the weight gain of chicks and advance the sexual maturity of slow-growing growing hens, but it can inhibit the laying of laying hens and reduce their egg production. Although yellow light can increase the egg weight of laying hens, it can delay the sexual maturity of laying hens and increase the incidence of pecking of laying hens. Blue light can easily induce pecking and reduce the laying rate and disease resistance of laying hens. Therefore, incandescent lamp or high-efficiency energy-saving lamp should be selected in production, the wavelength of this light source is between 500 and 625 microns, it includes red, orange, yellow, green and other wavelengths of light, which can meet the lighting needs of laying hens at different stages without side effects.

? IV. Summary

1. Light control should be coordinated with the standard feeding and management system, such as giving full-price formula feed and adequate clean drinking water, suitable environment in the house, and comprehensive epidemic prevention measures, so as to achieve the desired results.

two。 The light control should be combined with the actual production, and should be properly adjusted according to the seasonal climate, laying hen breeds, feeding and management conditions, etc., and the laying hens whose average body weight is lower or higher than the standard weight should appropriately postpone or increase the lighting time in advance.

3. Conditional chicken farms (households) can use chicken house lighting controllers such as DF- 24 programmable timing controller to automatically turn on and off lights, which can not only ensure accurate lighting time, but also promote the stability of light intensity and a gradual transition between light and dark.