https://aurora.auburn.edu/handle/11200/44220 2026-04-11T15:35:54Z 2026-04-11T15:35:54Z https://aurora.auburn.edu/handle/11200/50751 2026-01-08T15:47:41Z

Impact of natural and artificial light treatments on fear response and welfare parameters in commercial broilers In recent years, there has been a movement driven by consumer demands towards adding windows in broilers house to allow for natural light (NL) during rearing; however, little is currently known about the effects of NL on bird behavior and welfare. The objective of this study was to compare the impact of raising broilers under NL or artificial light (AL) on fear response and welfare parameters. Mixed-sex Ross 708 chicks (N=720) were housed in 16 rooms (44 birds/room), with 8 rooms per light treatment and raised until 55 days of age. Chicks were randomly assigned to one of two light treatments: artificial light provided via a 5000K LED or natural light provided via 1 ft2 window and 5000k LED. Fear response was measured on days 14 and 35, by the novel object (NO) and response to observer tests. In the NO test, the latency to first interaction with NO, latency to approach NO, and the number of birds approaching the NO within a 1-meter radius was recorded at 30-second intervals for a duration of 5 minutes. In the response to observer test, the number of birds that moved away in response to the pen door opening was measured. On day 55, welfare parameters such as hock burn, foot pad dermatitis, gait score and latency to lie were assessed. Data were log transformed for normality. The effect of light treatment was analyzed using a paired t-test in R (version 4.0.2). A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant, and a p-value of ≤ 0.1 indicated a tendency toward significance. No difference was found between treatments for hock burn, gait score, latency to first interaction with NO, latency to lie, and the response to the observer test on day 14. In fear response assessments at 35 days, the number of AL birds (M=0.46) that approached the NO was significantly lower than that of birds raised in NL (M=1.74; p<0.001; t=6.78). At 35 days of age, chickens raised with NL had a shorter latency to approach NO (3.92s) than those raised with AL (5.40s; t=-3.21; p<0.01). On the 35 day, there was a tendency towards significance for birds raised with NL to move away from the observer more frequently compared to those raised with AL. Furthermore, another tendency was observed where NL chickens showed a higher interest to explore NO compared to AL chickens on the 14 day of age. Moreover, birds raised with NL (M=0.2) showed significantly lower foot pad dermatitis scores when compared with the birds raised with AL (M=0.6; p=0.01; t=-2.85). Overall, this study shows that the provision of NL could improve foot health and reduce fearfulness in broilers.

https://aurora.auburn.edu/handle/11200/50748 2025-12-09T15:55:00Z

Evaluating the Influence of Natural and Artificial Light on Broiler Behavior Across Growth Stages In recent years, the addition of windows to broiler houses to provide natural light during rearing has increased; however, the effects of natural light on bird behavior remain largely unknown. To evaluate the impact of raising broilers under natural or artificial light on bird behavior, mixed-sex Ross 708 chicks (N=720) were housed in 16 rooms (44 birds/room), with 8 rooms per light treatment and raised until 56 d of age. Chicks were randomly assigned to one of two light treatments: artificial light provided via a 5000K LED (AL), or natural light provided via 1 ft2 window and supplemented by a 5000K LED bulb (NL). Behavior frequency was assessed every 30 minutes over a 24-hour period via scan sampling on d 12, 33, and 54, for behaviors of; body shaking, drinking, dustbathing, eating, environmental pecking, foraging, frolicking, other active behaviors (jumping, flight, shuffle gait and adjusting posture), preening, resting (sitting and sleeping), running, self-scratching, standing, stretching, walking, and wing-flapping. Data were analyzed as a repeated measures ANOVA (PROC GLIMMIX, SAS 9.4) for main effects of light treatment and age, and means were compared via the Tukey-Kramer test. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. An interaction between treatment and age was found for body shaking, frolicking, and resting. Body shaking occurred more on d 54 in NL (1±0.4), then in NL on d 12 (0) and 33 (0), and AL on d 12 (0) and 54 (0). Birds frolicked more on d 12 in NL (2.5±0.9) than on d 12 (0), 33 (0.25±0.25), and 54 (0) in AL, and d 54 in NL (0). Rest was highest on d 54 for both AL (1698±8.8) and NL (1658.5±7.5); followed by d 33 in AL (1572.25±13), then d 33 in NL (1535±25), and d 12 in NL (1472±5.7) and lowest on d 12 in AL (1430±19.4). Results showed that NL birds performed more drinking and active behaviors (60.6±2.4 and 26.2±2.7 respectively) compared to those raised under AL (51.6±2.4 and 17.2±1.6, respectively). Running (0.6±0.2), standing (87.1±7.7), and dust bathing (7±1.3) were performed more on d 12 than on either d 33 or 54. Whilst eating (139±8.5) and walking (57.5±3.2) were performed most on d 12, then d 33, and least on d 54. Foraging was performed more on d 12 (65±10.1) and 33 (74.9±4.5) than on d 54 (40.1±2.8). Birds preened most on d 33 (73.2±2.7). Stretching was most frequent on d 33 (40.9±3.4), followed by d 12 (15.9±1.1), with the least amount observed on d 54 (6.7±0.9). Overall, this study suggests that the NL treatment influences various behaviors in birds, including nutritive, play, and other active behaviors. Birds raised under NL conditions exhibited more frequent drinking, active behaviors and frolicking compared to those raised under AL conditions.