In order for the living conditions in the barn to be comfortable for birds, it is important to arrange it correctly and, first of all, we are talking about lighting. The length of daylight affects the physiological processes in the body and, together with temperature, proper lighting plays an important role in growing. To understand whether ducklings need an additional source of light at night, you need to focus on their age and the length of daylight hours.
[toc]
Do ducklings need light at night?
Many poultry farmers are concerned about the question of whether ducklings and ducks need light at night. For the full growth and development of small ducklings, a light source in the dark is necessary, but for adult birds it is not necessary if year-round egg production is not needed. When the correct lighting regime is observed, ducklings increase the number of red blood cells, improve metabolism and accelerate the growth process.
So should ducklings turn off the lights all night or just for a few hours? Babies who have reached the age of one week are raised with a daylight period of 20 hours, after which the time is gradually reduced to 16.
Note! The level of lighting intensity per 1 square meter of barn area should not exceed 4 watts.
At night, some lighting fixtures are turned off or their power is reduced to 2 watts per 1 square meter. To avoid the death of some individuals, it is important for a poultry farmer who is wondering whether ducklings need to leave a light in the barn at night to know that in the dark the babies get scared and crowd together - this leads to a lack of oxygen and suffocation. At the same time, too bright lighting devices can have a detrimental effect on the brood, since cannibalism may occur in weak chicks.
Basic light requirements
In order for newborn chicks to fully develop and adult ducks to lay eggs stably, it is necessary to provide a sufficient amount of natural and artificial lighting in the poultry house.
Artificial sources can be: LED lamps, as well as sodium, metal halide, fluorescent and incandescent lamps.The optimal lamp operating time is 15 hours.
