Lighting means more to chickens than just illumination. This potent management tool directly influences flock physiological rhythms, growth, and production. A poor lighting scheme can waste feed, delay growth, create pecking abnormalities, premature egg-laying, and stress. What are the main scientific lighting plan precautions? Understanding and carefully managing lighting intensity, duration, and stability is the answer.
Light duration: Growth and egg-laying metronome
The main factor is light exposure duration. Golden rule: do not expand light exposure during growth and do not limit it during egg-laying.
The initial 23-hour light period helps chicks find food and water and learn about their surroundings. Extra lengthy light exposure during growth can cause premature gonad development and sexual maturity. The chicken skeleton does not fully grow before laying eggs, which increases the likelihood of rectal prolapse, short egg output, and reduced egg weight. To control their consistent growth, a constant brief light period or a gradually shorter schedule is frequently used during growth.
After the flock reaches standard weight and condition and begins laying, the principle reverses. The light duration must be gradually increased to boost egg formation. Once increased, it must not be dropped again to avoid egg production decline. The final light duration should be 15-16 hours per day to maintain good productivity.
Light intensity: The foundation of a peaceful environment
Chicken flock behavior is directly affected by light intensity. Stress from too much light can make chickens anxious and start pecking at feathers and anus. Insufficient light hinders development, output, and feeding.
For healthy eating and drinking, chicks need 20-30 lux when they enter the coop. The severity should decrease over several days. A poor light setting of 5-10 lux (approximately similar to a dim room) is best for growing laying hens to keep them calm and reduce negative habits. Increase the intensity to 10-20 lux during laying to boost egg production. For even coop shadows, light intensity must be uniformly distributed.
| Power | 9W 18W 23W 25W |
| Size | 60CM 120CM 150CM |
| Color Temperature(CCT) | 2600-2800K, 3900-4200K |
| Luminous Effciency(LM/W) | 120LM/W 140LM/W 160LM/W |
| Color Rendering Index(Ra) | >90 |
| PF | >0.90 |
| Beam angle | 180degree |
| Waterproof | IP65 IP67 |
| Material | Aluminum Body+ PC cover |
| Input Voltage(V) | Triac dimmable 220V AC or 110V AC, 0-10V Dimmable AC85-265V |
| Lifespan (hours) | 50000 |
| Warranty | 5 years |
| Led chip | Epistar 2835 |
| Feature | flicker free |
Stability and light color: Stress-reduction details
Color of light matters too. Many studies have demonstrated that red-orange light improves chicken growth and egg-laying and reduces pecking because it hides red blood in wounded regions. Blue-green light calms better but may reduce egg production.
Additionally, light steadiness is crucial. An unexpected brightening of the lights at night or an accidental lowering of the shading curtain during the day generating darkness would stress the flock and produce panic, soft-shelled egg production, or shutdown. Therefore, all illumination adjustments (such as increasing duration) should be progressive dimming and brightening, and timers should be used to avoid human errors.
Chicken rearing lighting management requires careful planning. Farmers must direct the lighting's duration, intensity, and stability to create a low-stress, highly efficient development and production environment for the chicken flock, resulting in the optimum production performance.
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