Photoperiodic lighting (16 hours of light:8 hours of dark) programs during incubation: 2. Effects on early posthatching growth, blood physiology, and production performance in broiler chickens in relation to posthatching lighting programs

📖 Top 20% JournalOct 24, 2012Poultry science

Effects of Long-Day Light Exposure During Egg Incubation on Early Growth, Blood Health, and Production in Broiler Chickens Compared to Different Lighting After Hatching

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Abstract

Chicks incubated under photoperiodic lighting (16L:8D) were 94 g heavier than those incubated in darkness at 35 days.

Incubation under photoperiodic lighting may enhance early growth and development in chicks.
Chicks from photoperiodic incubation groups showed increased weight gain and breast muscle weight by day 6 compared to those incubated in darkness.
Lower levels of blood corticosterone were observed in chicks incubated under photoperiodic lighting, suggesting a potential reduction in stress response.
The lower concentration of malondialdehyde in the brain tissue of photoperiodic chicks may indicate reduced oxidative stress.
Interactions between incubation and posthatching lighting conditions may affect melatonin rhythms and overall adaptation to the environment.

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Photoperiodic incubation lighting might improve bird adaptation to a novel environment at hatching for a better start in early posthatching development. We evaluated the effect of 16L:8D lighting for either the whole incubation period (Inc(0-21d)) or the last week of incubation (Inc(14-21d)) on early posthatching growth, blood melatonin, and corticosterone at 6 d as well as malondialdehyde levels in brain tissue, relative asymmetry, and overall broiler performance as an interaction with the posthatching lighting programs. Dark incubation conditions (Inc(Dark)) served as control. There were 3 incubation batches in the experiment. Chicks from 2 of 3 batches were reared either at 16L:8D or under continuous lighting (24 h) through 6 d posthatching. Batch 3 chicks were reared to 35 d under either 16L:8D or 23L:1D. The main finding was a significant incubation × posthatching lighting interaction for 35-d BW in broilers. Although groups had similar BW under continuous lighting, Inc(0-21d) and Inc(14-21d) broilers were respectively 94 and 78 g heavier than Inc(Dark) birds under 16L:8D at 35 d. Lighted incubation groups increased 0 to 6 d of gain and had higher d-6 breast muscle weights with no effect on other traits measured. Posthatching 16L:8D reduced the gain and d-6 breast muscle. Significant incubation × posthatching lighting and posthatching lighting × sampling time interactions for blood melatonin may indicate that Inc(0-21d) affects melatonin diurnal rhythms even at 6 d under continuous light. Lower blood corticosterone levels on d 6 in Inc(0-21d) chicks reared under 16L:8D posthatching may support our hypothesis that incubation lighting can modify the bird stress response, probably affecting the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis during ontogeny, and may improve adaptation to a similar environment posthatching. The lower malondialdehyde concentration in brain tissue of Inc(0-21d) birds on d 6 may indicate lower lipid peroxidation and thus lower oxidative stress compared with Inc(Dark). These results provide further evidence that Inc(0-21d) may improve both bird adaptation to a similar photoperiodic environment and growth, probably through early entrainment of circadian physiology.

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