Effects of Ultraviolet Light Supplementation on Pekin Duck Production, Behavior, and Welfare
Ducks, like other domestic poultry species, can visualize the ultraviolet (UV) portion of the light spectrum; however, the importance of UV light radiation in artificially lit duck growout facilities remains unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of UV light supplementatio...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-05-01
|
| Series: | Animals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/5/833 |
| _version_ | 1797568215912546304 |
|---|---|
| author | Gabrielle M. House Eric B. Sobotik Jill R. Nelson Gregory S. Archer |
| author_facet | Gabrielle M. House Eric B. Sobotik Jill R. Nelson Gregory S. Archer |
| author_sort | Gabrielle M. House |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ducks, like other domestic poultry species, can visualize the ultraviolet (UV) portion of the light spectrum; however, the importance of UV light radiation in artificially lit duck growout facilities remains unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of UV light supplementation on Pekin duck production parameters, eye development, stress, and fear. Pekin ducks were reared with light-emitting diode (LED) lights supplemented with UV light or just LED lights (control). There were no differences in body weight (<i>p</i> = 0.32), feed conversion ratio (<i>p</i> = 0.38), or gait score (<i>p</i> = 0.89). Differences in eye morphology were observed, with ducks reared under UV light having narrower (12.3 ± 0.06632 mm; <i>p</i> = 0.010) and lighter (1.46 ± 0.01826 g; <i>p</i> = 0.025) eyes than the control (12.5 ± 0.05583 mm; 1.53 ± 0.02386 g). Ducks reared in UV environments had lower acute and chronic stress susceptibility with lower plasma corticosterone (6317 ± 593.79 pg/mL; <i>p</i> = 0.024), heterophil to lymphocyte ratios (0.43 ± 0.02889; <i>p</i> = 0.035), and composite asymmetry (0.58 ± 0.0298; <i>p</i> = 0.002) than control ducks (9242 ± 1120.7 pg/mL; 0.54 ± 0.04212; 0.76 ± 0.03726 mm, respectively). Ultraviolet ducks had a faster latency for the first head movement during tonic immobility (61.28 ± 9.4863 s, <i>p</i> = 0.026) and required more attempts to induce tonic immobility (1.71 ± 0.07333, <i>p</i> = 0.018) than control ducks (100.7 ± 14.846 s and 1.48 ± 0.06478, respectively). There were no differences in inversion testing (<i>p</i> = 0.91). These results indicate that UV lighting can lower stress and fear responses in Pekin ducks and can therefore increase welfare. Additionally, this study emphasizes the importance of choosing correct artificial lighting for all poultry species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:53:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-229a75cc72744098b6b12ae3e3f76cdb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:53:17Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-229a75cc72744098b6b12ae3e3f76cdb2023-11-20T00:10:41ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152020-05-0110583310.3390/ani10050833Effects of Ultraviolet Light Supplementation on Pekin Duck Production, Behavior, and WelfareGabrielle M. House0Eric B. Sobotik1Jill R. Nelson2Gregory S. Archer3Department of Poultry Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USADepartment of Poultry Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USADepartment of Poultry Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USADepartment of Poultry Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USADucks, like other domestic poultry species, can visualize the ultraviolet (UV) portion of the light spectrum; however, the importance of UV light radiation in artificially lit duck growout facilities remains unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of UV light supplementation on Pekin duck production parameters, eye development, stress, and fear. Pekin ducks were reared with light-emitting diode (LED) lights supplemented with UV light or just LED lights (control). There were no differences in body weight (<i>p</i> = 0.32), feed conversion ratio (<i>p</i> = 0.38), or gait score (<i>p</i> = 0.89). Differences in eye morphology were observed, with ducks reared under UV light having narrower (12.3 ± 0.06632 mm; <i>p</i> = 0.010) and lighter (1.46 ± 0.01826 g; <i>p</i> = 0.025) eyes than the control (12.5 ± 0.05583 mm; 1.53 ± 0.02386 g). Ducks reared in UV environments had lower acute and chronic stress susceptibility with lower plasma corticosterone (6317 ± 593.79 pg/mL; <i>p</i> = 0.024), heterophil to lymphocyte ratios (0.43 ± 0.02889; <i>p</i> = 0.035), and composite asymmetry (0.58 ± 0.0298; <i>p</i> = 0.002) than control ducks (9242 ± 1120.7 pg/mL; 0.54 ± 0.04212; 0.76 ± 0.03726 mm, respectively). Ultraviolet ducks had a faster latency for the first head movement during tonic immobility (61.28 ± 9.4863 s, <i>p</i> = 0.026) and required more attempts to induce tonic immobility (1.71 ± 0.07333, <i>p</i> = 0.018) than control ducks (100.7 ± 14.846 s and 1.48 ± 0.06478, respectively). There were no differences in inversion testing (<i>p</i> = 0.91). These results indicate that UV lighting can lower stress and fear responses in Pekin ducks and can therefore increase welfare. Additionally, this study emphasizes the importance of choosing correct artificial lighting for all poultry species.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/5/833ducklightingwelfareultravioletbehavior |
| spellingShingle | Gabrielle M. House Eric B. Sobotik Jill R. Nelson Gregory S. Archer Effects of Ultraviolet Light Supplementation on Pekin Duck Production, Behavior, and Welfare Animals duck lighting welfare ultraviolet behavior |
| title | Effects of Ultraviolet Light Supplementation on Pekin Duck Production, Behavior, and Welfare |
| title_full | Effects of Ultraviolet Light Supplementation on Pekin Duck Production, Behavior, and Welfare |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Ultraviolet Light Supplementation on Pekin Duck Production, Behavior, and Welfare |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Ultraviolet Light Supplementation on Pekin Duck Production, Behavior, and Welfare |
| title_short | Effects of Ultraviolet Light Supplementation on Pekin Duck Production, Behavior, and Welfare |
| title_sort | effects of ultraviolet light supplementation on pekin duck production behavior and welfare |
| topic | duck lighting welfare ultraviolet behavior |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/5/833 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gabriellemhouse effectsofultravioletlightsupplementationonpekinduckproductionbehaviorandwelfare AT ericbsobotik effectsofultravioletlightsupplementationonpekinduckproductionbehaviorandwelfare AT jillrnelson effectsofultravioletlightsupplementationonpekinduckproductionbehaviorandwelfare AT gregorysarcher effectsofultravioletlightsupplementationonpekinduckproductionbehaviorandwelfare |