Animal Welfare

Lighting duration is a crucial factor in breeding management, which directly affects the growth, reproduction, behavior and health status of animals. Different kinds of animals have different needs for light, and scientific and reasonable arrangement of lighting duration can significantly improve breeding efficiency and animal welfare. The following are the main effects of different lighting duration on farming.   （Image source:Pexels）   1.Effect on growth performance   *Appropriate lighting duration: can promote the metabolism of animals, improve feed conversion, accelerate growth.   *Too long lighting duration: may cause animals to be overactive, consume too much energy, but affect growth.   *Too short light duration: may inhibit the animal's appetite and activity, resulting in slow growth.   2.Effect on reproductive performance   *Poultry (e.g. chickens)    Increase the lighting duration: can stimulate the gonad development of hens, improve the egg production rate. A cycle of 16 hours of lighting and 8 hours of darkness is usually used.    Reduce lighting duration: May result in a decrease in egg production or even stop egg production.   *Mammals (e.g. pigs)    Appropriate lighting duration: helps to regulate the estrus cycle of sows and improve reproductive efficiency.    Too short light duration: may delay the sow's estrus and affect reproductive performance.   3.Effect on behavior   *Regular lighting cycles: help animals develop a stable biological clock and reduce stress responses.   *Sudden changes in lighting: May cause anxiety, increased aggression, or decreased appetite in animals.   *Excessive lighting duration: May make the animal overactive, increasing the risk of fighting and injury.   4.Effect on immunity   *Appropriate lighting: can enhance the immunity of animals, reduce the incidence of disease.   *Too short lighting duration: May suppress immune system function and increase the risk of disease.   *Too long lighting duration: may lead to animal fatigue, reduced immunity.   5.Effect on feed utilization   *Appropriate lighting duration: can promote the regular feeding of animals, improve feed utilization.   *Too short lighting duration: may reduce animal feed intake, affecting growth and reproduction.   *Excessive lighting duration: May cause animals to expend excessive energy and reduce feed conversion.   6.Effect on meat quality and egg quality   *Poultry    Appropriate lighting duration: can improve eggshell quality and egg nutrients.    Too long lighting duration: may lead to eggshell thinning, egg quality decline.   *Mammal    Appropriate lighting duration: helps to improve meat quality, increase muscle fat content and taste.    Too short lighting duration: may lead to poor meat quality and insufficient fat deposition.   7.Effect on animal welfare   *Appropriate lighting duration: can improve animal comfort and happiness, reduce abnormal behavior (such as feather pecking, tail biting, etc.).   *Too short lighting duration: May cause depression and abnormal behavior in animals.   *Too long lighting duration: may make animals tired and affect their normal rest.   8.Effect on economic efficiency   *Scientific lighting management: can improve breeding efficiency, reduce feed costs and medical costs, increase economic benefits.   *Unreasonable lighting time: may lead to slow growth, low reproductive efficiency and frequent diseases, increasing breeding costs.   Conclusion Scientific and reasonable arrangement of lighting time is the key to improve breeding efficiency and animal welfare. Different kinds of animals have different needs for light, and farmers should formulate appropriate Lighting Solutions according to the types of animals, growth stages and breeding objectives.   Xiamen Good Light Technology Ltd. is a company that specializes in poultry and livestock farming lighting solutions design and R&D, production and sales of poultry and livestock lighting products. Our latest product intelligent farming lighting system, it is not only a lighting duration control system ,but also a lighting management control system. Through accurate lighting management, it can improve the growth rate and reproductive performance of animals, improve the quality of meat and eggs, reduce the incidence of disease, and ultimately maximize economic benefits.