Agriculture (Nov 2023)
Study on Illumination Intensity and Duration of LED Light Sources for a Weaned Piglet House without Natural Light
Abstract
Lighting is an important environmental parameter in livestock farming, which can affect the physiology and behavior of animals, and it can regulate animal production. To explore the comprehensive effects of light intensity and duration on the performance, behavior, and physiological indicators of piglets, a 3 × 2 two-factor experiment (three levels of lighting intensity × two lighting durations) was conducted. The three light intensities used were high (100–120 lux), medium (40–50 lux), and low (5–20 lux). The two lighting durations were 8 h and 10 h of light per day. The experiment used a total of six lighting combinations, which corresponded with the six test units. A total of 96 Landrace–Yorkshire hybrid piglets, with an initial body weight of 13.23 ± 0.18 kg, were randomly assigned to six lit units, four pens per unit, and four piglets per pen. The results showed that lighting intensity and duration had no significant effect on the average daily feed intake, average daily gain, feed/gain, or water consumption of pigs (p > 0.05). For IgM, the main effect caused by the light duration was significant. When the light intensity was 5–20 lux and 40–50 lux, the serum IgM levels of piglets in the 10 h/day light group were 45.80% and 39.54% higher than those in the 8 h/day group, respectively (p p p p p p p < 0.05). Overall, under the conditions used in this study, although extending the duration of light with an intensity of 40–50 lux to 10 h can improve some immune-related indicators, the extent of this effect was limited. The recommended lighting scheme for piglet houses is a light intensity of 40–50 lux and a lighting duration of 8 h. However, the range of lighting conditions set in this study was still very limited, and various environmental factors must be comprehensively considered in an actual production setting.
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