The importance of poultry lighting is being increasingly recognised. Well-deserved in our opinion! Our convincing research has shown that an optimal light climate can significantly improve poultry welfare and performances, regardless of the poultry house design. The ideal poultry lighting has 7 key aspects that need to be adapted to the animal’s needs.
Now, what are these 7 key aspects? Why are they so important? Let’s have a look at them one by one.
The light spectrum is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to poultry. A lighting solution with a broad light spectrum approaches the natural daylight spectrum most closely. In this way, poultry sight, welfare and performances can be improved.
Light flicker is the rapid fluctuation in the light intensity of a lamp. When a lighting solution flickers, poultry may perceive this as a possible threat. Stress is a logical consequence of this. This, at its turn, results in higher agitation levels, with all consequences associated. Flicker-free lighting is therefore the way to go.
Light distribution simply stands for the spread of light. Light intensity is the amount of light measured at one place. For poultry, the light intensity is measured in gallilux. It’s very important to ensure that the right amount of light is provided at the right place in the house. In this way, the light distribution can be optimised. The best way to realise this is to set up a custom-made light plan to create a light climate that is adjusted to the needs of your house and the animals in it.
To simulate sunrise and sunset conditions, it is important that a lamp dims smoothly and equally from 100-0%. In this way, natural conditions are being optimally simulated, which increases animal well-being.
The colour rendering index expresses how true the colours are. The closer the CRI is to 100, the closer the colour reproduction comes to that of sunlight. Since chickens have relatively good colour vision, a CRI of at least 80 is recommended. This improves their sight, with all benefits that come with it.
The CCT, or correlated colour temperature, expresses the colour temperature of light. This is being expressed in degrees Kelvin. The higher the colour temperature, the more blue the light is (cold white). The lower the colour temperature, the more red the light contains (warm white). It’s very important to provide the right colour to optimise sight. The optimal light colour differs per type of poultry.
The photoperiod is the period of time in which the lights are on. Each type of poultry requires a different photoperiod. The photoperiod has to be adjusted to the type of poultry, the breed, the type of housing and more.
Long story short...
There are a lot of factors that have to be taken in mind to realise an optimal poultry light climate. Each type of poultry has its own requirements and every aspect has its own influences and benefits.