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Effect of Selected Photointensity Regimes on Chick Preening Behavior and Competitive Exclusion Culture Efficacy

Departments of Poultry Science and Veterinary Pathobiology, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, College Station, TX 77843; Phone: (409) 845-5184; FAX: (409) 862-6682

Correspondence: B. M. Hargis, E-mail:bhargis{at}uark.edu

Previous research has demonstrated that increasing photointensity (0 to 115.5 FC) at the time of spray application results in marked and significant increases in preening behavior and ingestion of spray-applied material. Increasing the photointensity from 20 FC before spray application to 300 FC briefly during spray application (15 sec) and holding chicks at 100 FC after spray application increased cumulative preening events by more than twofold compared to the normal hatchery practice of holding chicks at 20 FC prior to and during spray application and moving chick trays immediately into stacks (0.3 FC). Similar optimization of lighting intensity also resulted in more than twofold higher cecal propionate concentrations 48 hr after spray application. These data indicate that environmental conditions at the time of spray-application are critical for optimal ingestion of spray-applied product by chicks and that brief high-intensity light exposure may improve CE ingestion and performance.

Key Words: Chicks • ingestion • photointensity regimes • preening • spray application