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Photoperiodic responses of broilers. II. Ocular development.

P D Lewis¹, R M Gous

¹Animal and Poultry Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. pdlewis@dsl.pipex.com

British Poultry Science

|December 1, 2009

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Poultry eye development is impacted by light exposure. Both very short and continuous light periods negatively affect ocular development, highlighting the need for a minimum daily dark period for healthy chicken growth.

Area of Science:

Avian biology
Ophthalmology
Animal welfare science

Background:

Poultry are naturally long-sighted at hatching, achieving emmetropia by six weeks.
Broiler chickens exposed to short photoperiods (< or = 12 hours) may adapt to eating in darkness, potentially disrupting emmetropia development.
Ocular development in poultry is sensitive to environmental light conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the impact of varying photoperiods on ocular development in broiler chickens.
To determine the relationship between photoperiod duration and eye weight in Cobb and Ross broilers.
To assess potential adverse effects on chicken eye growth and welfare due to atypical light exposure.

Main Methods:

Eyes were enucleated post-mortem from broilers at 40 and 54 days of age.

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Birds were exposed to a range of photoperiods from 2 to 24 hours.

Absolute and relative eye weights (to body weight) were measured and analyzed.

Main Results:

An inverse linear relationship was observed between absolute eye weight and photoperiod up to 21 hours.
Continuously illuminated birds exhibited consistently heavier eyes.
Relative eye weight showed an inverse relationship with the logarithm of photoperiod for birds exposed to < or = 21-hour photoperiods.
Cobb broilers had significantly heavier eyes than Ross broilers, both absolutely and relatively.

Conclusions:

A minimum daily period of darkness is essential for maintaining normal chicken eye growth.
Both very short and ultra-long photoperiods, including continuous illumination, adversely affect ocular development in broilers.
These findings have significant implications for poultry welfare and management practices related to lighting.