Effect of a Broiler-Specific Light Spectrum on Growth Performance and Adrenocortical Activity in Chickens: A Pilot Study on a Commercial Farm
by
, , , , ,
Livio Galosi
1,†
,
Luca Todini
1,†,
Laura Menchetti
1,*
,
Annaïs Carbajal
2,
Rupert Palme
3,
Nicola Ruggiero
1,
Roberto Falconi
1 and
Alessandra Roncarati
1 1
School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Via Circonvallazione 93-95, 62024 Matelica, MC, Italy
2
Department of Animal Health and Anatomy, Veterinary Faculty, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
3
Department of Biological Sciences and Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Vet. Sci. 2024, 11(12), 618; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci11120618
Submission received: 9 September 2024
/
Revised: 27 November 2024
/
Accepted: 28 November 2024
/
Published: 2 December 2024
(This article belongs to the Section Veterinary Physiology, Pharmacology, and Toxicology)
Simple Summary
Light, among the environmental parameters, is a key factor for the well-being of broiler chickens in modern farming. It has the potential to influence a variety of physiological, immunological, and behavioural processes. In this study, we propose the use of a broiler-specific light spectrum, which is a combination of blue, green, and red LEDs, for chickens reared under commercial systems. We evaluated its effects on productivity performance and non-invasive indicators of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis activity. Our findings suggest that the use of broiler-specific lighting significantly improves productivity performance, as indicated by the final mean body weight and uniformity index. While the analyses of droppings and feathers were feasible, further research involving replicates, sampling at multiple time points, and behavioural observations is needed to confirm their role as welfare indicators in farmed chicken.
Abstract
This study evaluated the effect of a broiler-specific light spectrum on productive performance corticosterone (fCC) and androgen dehydroepiandrosterone (fDHEA) concentrations in feathers, and glucocorticoid (GCMs) and androgen (AMs) metabolites in droppings of broilers. Two groups of female Ross 308 broilers were reared under white LED (WL, n = 9000) and broiler-specific LED (BSL, n = 9000) lights. The body weight (BW) of 150 randomly selected animals/groups was measured weekly. Droppings and feathers were collected at the end of the cycle (29 days) from 20 animals/group. The BSL group showed higher final BW than WL (1407 ± 11 vs. 1341 ± 15 g, respectively; p < 0.001) and higher indices of uniformity (76.8% vs. 61.2% animals in the 10% around the mean, respectively; p < 0.001). No difference between groups was found in fCC and fDHEA concentrations or in the fCC–fDHEA, indicating similar long-term HPA axis activity during the cycle. A higher concentration of GCMs was found in the BSL group, indicating higher glucocorticoid secretion before sampling, with neither a difference in AMs nor in GCMs–AMs. Finally, there was a positive correlation between fCC and fDHEA and between GCMs and AMs (p < 0.01). Our findings suggest that the use of broiler-specific light improved the productivity performances of chickens without long-term consequences on HPA activation. However, the results of this pilot study in a commercial farm setting must be interpreted with caution and need confirmation.
