It is difficult to control the darkness of the chicken house with natural ventilation, so it is often impossible to use the artificial lighting system. For broilers, continuous light is generally adopted to promote the broilers to eat as much food as possible and accelerate their growth. Usually after the broiler reaches 2 kg, it is transferred to a closed house for feeding, and artificial light is added.
During the first week, fill in as much light as possible (23 hours light, 1 hour dark, 30-40 lux). In Europe, broilers are given a dark period of at least 6 hours per day and at least 4 consecutive hours after they are over a week old. The intensity of the light is at least 20 lux.
Advantages of ventilation systems:
- Improve feed conversion rate;
- Reduce sudden death syndrome and ascites;
- Increased feed intake after a short dark period;
- Decrease in growth rate during longer dark periods;
broiler chicken cage
Lighting in broilers floor raising
In nature, chickens roost in shaded areas and only get to the sun when they are active. Primitive chickens in the forest will live in dark places in order to avoid predators. Also, chicks prefer to stay in the dark under the hen’s wings.
Lighting in battery chicken cage systems
When using cages, the uniformity of care is particularly important, both for the animals themselves and for the breeders.
Priority is given to ensuring the light intensity of the place where the broiler is located, which is not only beneficial to the broiler itself, but also facilitates the observation of the flock. (It is necessary to install lighting on each floor)
Hanging lamps in hallways and on the top floor will make it difficult to see the chickens in the middle and bottom. (But this lighting method is the most common)
