Study extra about poultry lighting applications
23 Could 2024
5 minute learn
Editor’s notice: This text is an excerpt from the Cobb Breeder Administration Information and extra articles will observe. The Information was designed to focus on essential components which are more than likely to affect flock efficiency. To learn or obtain the whole Information or to view Cobb’s different administration guides, click on right here.
There are 3 lighting applications primarily based on housing configurations:
- Darkish out rearing to pure daylight manufacturing.
- Darkish out rearing to darkish out manufacturing.
- Pure daylight / brown out rearing to pure daylight manufacturing.
Darkish out rearing to pure daylight manufacturing
Darkish out homes ought to present complete mild management. Begin chicks on 23 hours of sunshine lowering to eight hours by two weeks of age (see part 2.3 in brooding design). The 8-hour day size will start when feed cleanup instances and bodyweights are on normal. Typically, the 8-hour day size can begin when the birds eat their on a regular basis restricted feed in 4 hours or much less – normally 14 to fifteen days. The 8-hours of sunshine day size will proceed till 21 to 22 weeks (147 to 154 days) of age when picture stimulation begins.
In rearing, 9 hours of sunshine are used when the birds are being transferred to open sided manufacturing homes throughout the summer time months with a pure mild length of greater than 13 hours. Another choice is to picture stimulate the hens within the rearing home between 147 to 154 days of age by growing synthetic mild from 8 to 12 hours. Hens then are transferred at 154 days of age and given 15 to 16 hours of pure day mild, which will forestall over stimulation. It isn’t at all times attainable to use this program primarily based on the down time between flocks. The unreal mild system should present a minimal of fifty and a most of 100 lux (5 to 10 fc) throughout the manufacturing interval, with 70 lux (7 fc) being a great common mild depth for females and males.
Most pure mild hours will at all times depend upon the placement’s latitude for open sided homes. Flocks being transferred in autumn can obtain solely a most of 14 hours of pure mild, however flocks transferred to open manufacturing homes in the summertime might want to alter the utmost mild to the native hours of pure daylight.
Quick feather females – picture stimulation begins between 147 and 154 days. Gradual feather females – 150 to 154 days. In excessive instances, when females are beneath weight and beneath fleshed with inadequate pelvic fats reserves, picture stimulation might be delayed to 161 days.
Pure daylight or brown out rearing to pure daylight manufacturing
It isn’t really useful to rear breeders in pure daylight homes. Nevertheless, this rearing system is efficiently utilized in areas near the equator the place the variation in pure day size is minimal. Throughout rearing the flocks can stay on pure mild in all seasons till picture stimulation. This system used will depend upon pure day size when the flock reaches 140 days of age. When the pure day size is inadequate, present further mild at each the start and the tip of the pure day mild interval to make sure that the supposed day size is achieved. Extra mild added throughout this era have to be 80 to 100 lux (8 to 10 ft candles) to make sure that the birds are stimulated sufficiently.
Brown out rearing homes use a black shade fabric, plastic or mixture of each positioned alongside the edges of the home from the roof down. This technique blocks as much as 80 % of the pure mild, therefore the time period brown out rearing. The problem with this method is discovering the steadiness between darkening the home and air flow.
Brown out rearing might be profitable in housing located in areas the place the pure mild hours don’t fluctuate considerably. In areas exterior 10º latitude north and south, day size variability will induce a delayed onset of manufacturing, inflicting dramatic drops in hatching eggs.
In open-sided and windowed homes, native day size circumstances require {that a} particular program be adopted for every flock which might be optimized with the technical providers consultant.
Flock Sexual Uniformity
Flock uniformity better than 70 % permits simultaneous will increase in mild length (+4 hours) and depth. Simultaneous will increase will guarantee a lot of the flock shall be stimulated and a excessive sexual uniformity might be obtained. On this method, most of females will take part in peak manufacturing.
When uniformity is poor, the birds within the flock that aren’t but prepared for picture stimulation (beneath weight, beneath fleshed, too little pelvic fats) can be overstimulated. Photograph stimulating birds that aren’t prepared might lead to decrease peak manufacturing and persistency with greater numbers of double yolks, flooring eggs, egg peritonitis, mortality, and culls. Subsequently, when flock uniformity is lower than 70 %, the flock would require extra and smaller incremental will increase in mild length and depth. For these flocks, it is really useful to first Improve mild depth to 30 to 35 lux (3 to three.5 fc) and enhance mild length for 3 hours (from 8 to 11 hours per day). Per week later, enhance mild length for an extra 2 hours (from 11 to 13 hours per day) and depth to a minimal of fifty lux (5 fc). The ultimate enhance needs to be every week later to an depth of 70 lux (7 fc) in addition to growing length for an extra hour (see desk beneath for particulars).
Men and women can observe the identical lighting and picture stimulation program previous to mixing. Nevertheless, if males are reared individually, the mild program for males might be totally different from the females relying on the male line used. See particular lighting suggestions for every male line in our dietary supplements (https://www.cobb-vantress.com/useful resource/product-supplementsuseful resource/product-supplements).
