EFFECT OF SEQUENTIAL INTERMITTENT WHITE, GREEN AND BLUE LIGHTS ON PERFORMANCE OF BROILER CHICKS

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of sequential and intermittent white, blue and green monochromatic lights on performance of broiler chicks. Artificial illumination has been used to affect metabolism and improve productive performance in poultry husbandry. Colored lighting systems have been used to promote avian growth and development since 1950 (Cao et al., 2012).Material and Methods Five hundred and four day-old broiler chicks (ROSS 308) were randomly allocated to 9 treatments with four replicates of 14 chicks based on a completely randomized design. The treatments included: 1) white light throughout the experimental period; 2) green light throughout the experimental period; 3) blue light throughout the experimental period and the following intermittent lighting patterns for the starter, grower and finisher phase respectively 4) white, green and blue light; 5) white, blue and green light; 6) green, white and blue light; 7) green, blue and white light; 8) blue, white and green light and 9) blue, green and white light with an intensity of 10 lux/m2.Results and Discussion Chicks subjected to intermittent lightening program of white, green and blue light exhibited the lowest FCR and highest body weight gain (P<0.05), compared to the other treatments. Furthermore, the intermittent lighting pattern of white, green and blue light and sequential green reduced the fear time reaction of the chicks in fear test (P<0.05). In conclusion the results of the current study indicated that application of an intermittent lighting pattern of white, green and blue light and sequential green light can improve productive traits of broiler chicks. Xie et al. (2011) reported that B and G promoted the growth of intestinal villi better than R. This theory is supported by Cao et al. (2012) results in that the feed conversion ratio was lower in the G→B group compared with the other light groups.

کلیدواژه ها:

broilers ، performance ، light colors ، light sequential