Effects of incubation lighting with green or white light on brown layers: hatching performance, feather pecking and hypothalamic expressions of genes related with photoreception, serotonin, and stress systems

Early-life interventions to prevent feather pecking and reduce fearfulness in laying hens

“…Although this damaging behavior usually develops at the onset of egg-laying ( Rodenburg et al, 2013 ), some studies have observed it during the rearing phase in commercial flocks ( De Haas et al, 2014a ). In another study on lighted incubation in laying hens, green light seemed to increase GFP but decrease SFP and aggressive FP at 24 and 32 wk of age ( Özkan et al, 2022 ). The green light-incubated hens also had a better plumage score at 40 wk compared with white light- and dark-incubated hens.…”

“…Moreover, the existing body of literature was not consistent regarding the effect of lighted incubation on behavior, with some reporting a reduction in fearfulness ( Archer and Mench, 2014a ; Archer, 2017 ) and FP ( Özkan et al, 2022 ) and others an increase in fearfulness ( Dimond, 1968 ) and (gentle) FP ( Riedstra and Groothuis, 2004 ). The light color used in these studies also seemed to play a key role in these reported effects, with green light demonstrating a decrease in FP ( Özkan et al, 2022 ). The use of green light, therefore, seems promising as an intervention to promote the welfare of laying hens.…”

Effects of lighted incubation and foraging enrichment during rearing on individual fear behavior, corticosterone, and neuroplasticity in laying hen pullets

“…It should also be noted that this lack of difference means that we did not find any negative effects of lighted incubation on behavior. Given the promising results of other studies ( Archer, 2017 ; Archer & Mench, 2014b ; Özkan et al, 2022 ), the incubation conditions should be further optimized to explore the potential to improve laying hen welfare. These and additional behavioral tests were performed in our recently published work studying the effect of green light throughout incubation in 2 different laying hen hybrids, namely ISA Brown and Dekalb White ( Manet et al, 2023b ).…”

“…The light color used in these studies seems to play a key role in the direction of these reported effects. The use of green light was demonstrated to decrease feather pecking ( FP ) in a study with laying hens ( Özkan et al, 2022 ) and therefore seems to be a promising choice of light color as intervention to improve the welfare of laying hens.…”

Implementation of Internet of Things for Egg Incubation Control System

“…On chicken farms, the hatching process of chicken eggs usually uses an incubator to hatch chicken eggs. This requires technology that can speed up and simplify the incubation process, namely incubators [3]. Hatching eggs with a hatching machine has many advantages and conveniences compared to the traditional way.…”