Abstract
Light is a critical management factor for broiler production, and the wavelength spectrum, one of its components, can affect bird physiology, behavior and production. Among all the senses, sight is important to birds, and their visual system possess several adaptations that allow them to perceive light differently from humans. Therefore, it is critical to consider whether the exposure to monochromatic light colors influences broiler visual ability, which could affect behavioral expression. The present study examined the effects of various light colors on the visual systems of broiler chickens. Ross 708 males were raised from 0 to 35 days under three wavelength programs [blue (dominant wavelengths near 455 nm), green (dominant wavelengths near 510 nm) or white]. Broilers were given a complete ophthalmic examination, including chromatic pupillary light reflex testing, rebound tonometry, anterior segment biomicroscopy and indirect ophthalmoscopy (n = 36, day 21). To assess ocular anatomy, broilers were euthanized, eyes were weighed, and dimensions were taken (n = 108, day 16 and day 24). An autorefractor was used to assess the refractive index and the corneal curvature (n = 18, day 26). To evaluate spatial vision, broilers underwent a grating acuity test at one of three distances–50, 75, or 100 cm (n = 24, day 29). Data were analyzed as a one-way ANOVA using the MIXED procedure or Proc Par1way for non-normally distributed data. Significant differences were observed for refractive index and spatial vision. Birds raised under blue light were slightly more hyperopic, or far-sighted, than birds raised under white light (P = 0.01). As for spatial vision, birds raised under blue light took less time to approach the stimulus at distances of 50 cm (P = 0.03) and 75 cm (P = 0.0006) and had a higher success rate (choosing the right feeder, P = 0.03) at 100 cm than birds raised under white light. Improvements in spatial vision for birds exposed to blue light can partially explain the behavioral differences resulting from rearing broilers under different wavelengths.
Introduction
Light is a crucial management factor for broiler production, and its components, such as photoperiod and light intensity, affect broiler growth, diurnal rhythms, behavior and welfare (, ; ,, ). Light spectrum, another aspect of light, appears to affect poultry growth; however, the results published to date are inconsistent (; ; ). It is well documented that behavioral responses are altered when birds are reared under specific light wavelengths (,; ; ; ). Previous studies have indicated that raising broilers under long wavelengths, such as red light (630–780 nm), increased bird activity, with increased walking and wing and leg stretching (). Broilers were also more active when raised under yellow light (565–600 nm), which is also considered a long wavelength (). In contrast, birds raised under shorter wavelengths, such as blue light, spent more time sitting or resting (; ). In addition to the impacts on behavioral output, light wavelength also influences fear and stress levels. Broilers raised under blue light had lower fear levels, assessed through tonic immobility, than birds raised under white light (, ). Likewise, the heterophil: lymphocyte ratio, an indicator of chronic stress, was lower in broilers reared under blue light compared to green or white light, indicating a reduction in stress (Remonato Franco et al., under review a1).
These impacts on bird behavior may suggest that lighting programs with varying wavelengths may be a usable tool to improve welfare and production. However, it is important to understand the origin of the behavioral changes and whether they are related to visual ability. A bird’s large eyes in relation to their body weight and brain size suggest that vision is a critical sense for poultry (; ). Birds use visual cues for several activities, such as awareness of other birds’ intentions, status recognition, determining what is safe to eat and drink, and navigation (). When comparing the behavior of blind and sighted chickens, demonstrated that blind birds exhibited difficulties in expressing key behaviors, displaying increased frustration, which is associated with reduced animal welfare.
Birds have developed several adaptations to their visual system compared to mammals, despite sharing similar gross features (). Birds are tetrachromatic, which means they possess four types of cone photoreceptor cells compared to trichromatic animals, such as humans. The lens and aqueous humor of birds are optically clear in the ultraviolet (UV) range, giving birds a color vision expanded to UV light (; ). They also possess a double-cone photoreceptor, of which the function is related to the perception of movement (). The oil droplets in the cones filter light before it reaches the photopigments, providing birds with increased accuracy in color discrimination (; ). Birds also possess a different spectral sensitivity and therefore perceive color and intensity differently than humans (; ). This is particularly true in the blue color range, and birds see this light color much brighter than do humans (). This implies that measuring intensity in units of lux, the traditional unit used to assess illuminance under white light, may not be the correct methodology when assessing light intensity of colored lighting in poultry settings, as it is based on human spectral sensitivity rather than that of a bird. A more accurate assessment unit has been developed, known as clux (corrected lux or chicken lux), that considers birds’ spectral sensitivity and how they perceive their environment (; ; ; ; ).
Previous research has highlighted the impacts of other light components, such as long daylengths, in broiler () and turkey production (). These animals display increased eye weights and dimensions as daylength increases, likely through disruption of the diurnal rhythms, which also happens when light intensity is very low during broiler production ().
Besides affecting eye shape and size, visual function may be impaired by different light components, influencing refraction, ocular health, and visual acuity (). The chicken eye has been used as a model for studying human ocular diseases and conditions (). Results demonstrate an immoscopy was performed to assess thpact of varying wavelengths on emmetropization, with eyes exhibiting increased axial length and vitreous chamber depth when chicks were exposed to red or white light (), and on refractive error, with long wavelengths, such as red light, leading to progressive myopia (). To our knowledge, no study has been conducted to understand the structural ocular changes or effects in visual function and spatial vision caused by raising broilers under different wavelengths in a simulated commercial setting.
To encompass this, in the present study, broilers reared under one of three wavelengths underwent a series of tests to assess their visual ability. These data were of a larger experiment, testing the response to wavelength treatments in production, health and behavior parameters of broilers (3 manuscripts: Table 1. see text foot note 12,3). The objective of this study was to assess ocular health and vision in broilers raised under different wavelength treatments.
TABLE 1
| Current manuscript | Other measures taken within specific experiment | ||
| Experiment 1 | Trial 1 | Ocular health (chromatic PLR, anterior segment biomicroscopy, indirect ophthalmoscopy, IOP) Eye measurements (eye weight, corneal diameter, mediolateral diameter, dorsoventral diameter and anteroposterior size) | Behavioral expression, fear and stress levels (see text foot note 1) Production variables (see text foot note 2) Health parameters (see text foot note 3) |
| Trial 2 | Refraction Index Eye measurements (eye weight, corneal diameter, mediolateral diameter, dorsoventral diameter and anteroposterior size) | ||
| Experiment 2 | Spatial vision | ||
Summary of experiments/trials and measurements obtained from each.
Materials and Methods
This experiment was approved by the Animal Care Committee of the University of Saskatchewan and was conducted following the guidelines of the as specified in the Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals.
The assessments of ocular health and vision were conducted as a part of a larger experiment that studied the impact of wavelength treatments on production, physiology, behavior and welfare of broilers. Tests were conducted within 2 experiments, one of which involved 2 blocked trials.
Housing
For both experiments, each lasting 35 days, broilers were raised at the Poultry Research and Teaching Unit located at the University of Saskatchewan. The facility contains nine individual environmentally controlled rooms. Each room was subdivided into 12 individual pens (2.0 m × 2.3 m). In Experiment 1 (2 repeated trials), Ross YPMx708 and Ross EPMx708 males and females were housed sex-separately within nine rooms (12 pens per room), with 62 males, or 70 females per pen, resulting in a final estimated density of 31 kg/m2 (total of 7128 broilers housed in each of two trials). For Experiment 2, mixed-sex Ross 308 chicks were housed in two rooms, with each pen containing 42 broilers, for a total of 710 broilers.
Water, available ad libitum, was provided using pendulum nipple drinkers, with six nipples available per pen. Commercially prepared feed (starter diet–0.5 kg per bird, grower diet–2.0 kg per bird and the remainder as finisher diet) was provided ad libitum using aluminum tube feeders. Chicks were housed on the day of hatch in pens containing approximately 7.5–10 cm of wheat straw bedding. Room temperatures were set to 32.1°C at the time of placement and were reduced gradually until 21°C was reached by 25 days of age and maintained until the end of the trial. Temperature was monitored twice each day in each room via behavioral observations and computer output.
Lighting
Light was provided via light emitting diode (LED) light bulbs (11W Alice Non-Directional LED Lamps, Greengage Agritech Limited, Roslin Innovation Centre, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Campus, Midlothian, EH25 9RG, United Kingdom) that, for Experiment 1, emitted one of three lighting treatments: blue (dominant wavelengths near 455 nm), green (dominant wavelengths near 510 nm), and white (combination of wavelengths). Experiment 2 treatments were refined (chosen based on behavioral differences noted between broilers reared under blue light compared to white and green: see text foot note 1), and included only the blue and white lighting treatments. These were chosen based on behavioral measures taken in Experiment 1 (see text foot note 1). Measurements of light spectra were taken for each light treatment to verify the spectral distribution (Asensetek Incorporation, New Taipei City, Taiwan, Figure 1).
FIGURE 1
On day 0, birds received 23 h of light, which was decreased (1 h per day) until day 5, when 18 h of light was provided. Dawn and dusk periods of 15 min were provided daily, prior to lights turning on or off. Light intensity was measured in clux. For trial 1 of Experiment 1, light intensity was 9.6 ± 0.4 clux. In the second blocked trial of Experiment 1, and for Experiment 2, the first week was set at 14.3 ± 0.1 clux and the remaining weeks at 9.6 ± 0.4 clux (Galilux Light Meter, Hato Agricultural Lighting, Sittard, Netherlands).
Data Collection
Ocular Health
A summary of the data collected during the different experiments and trials is presented at Table 1. In the first trial of Experiment 1, twelve YPM-708 males per lighting treatment (from 2 pens per room and 2 birds from each pen) were randomly selected at 21 days (n = 36) to undergo complete ophthalmic examinations performed by a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist. The examinations included chromatic pupillary light reflex (PLR) testing (Melan-100 unit, BioMed Vision Technologies, Ames, IA, United States), anterior segment biomicroscopy performed with a portable slit lamp (SL-17, Kowa, Tokyo Japan), and indirect ophthalmoscopy [IOP, (Heine Omega 200, Heine Instruments Canada, Kitchener, Ontario)]. Rebound tonometry (Tonovet, Tiolat, Helsinki, Finland) was used to estimate intraocular pressure (; ).
Eye Measurements
In Experiment 1 (trials 1 and 2), 36 birds per light treatment (YPM-708 males only, 2 pens per room, 1 bird per pen, n = 108) were euthanized by decapitation, and both eyes were immediately extracted. Adhering tissues were removed, and eye weights and dimensions were taken for both eyes using a digital scale and digital caliper. Dimensions included corneal diameter, mediolateral diameter, dorsoventral diameter and anteroposterior size (; ).
Refraction Index
In the second trial of Experiment 1, a handheld autorefractor (Nikon Retinomax K-plus 2) was used to assess the corneal curvature and the refractive index in six birds per lighting treatment at 26 days (YPM-708 males only, from 2 pens per room and 1 bird from each pen, n = 18). Tests were conducted and results were assessed by an ophthalmologist from Saskatoon City Hospital, University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon, SK, Canada).
Spatial Vision Test
Based on behavioral differences noted for birds under blue compared to white and green light in Experiment 1 (see text foot note 1), a second experiment was added to determine if visual acuity could explain these behavioral changes. In Experiment 2, 12 birds per lighting treatment (blue or white, from one pen per room, males only, n = 24) underwent testing to evaluate spatial vision at 29 days, using a spatial conditional discrimination procedure (). For a period of 4 days before the test day, a test space was set up in the middle of a pen, and selected birds were placed individually inside the pen. Birds remained in the test space for 5 min, for acclimation with the features related to rewarding and non-rewarding feeders (). The test pen included two feed stations: one contained previously weighed feed (rewarding) and the other without feed (non-rewarding), Figure 2. The feed stations were located either in front of gray or black and white square-wave grating boards [vertical stripes–2.5 mm wide, 5 mm per cycle ()].
FIGURE 2
On the fifth day of spatial vision testing, the chosen birds were individually tested in the test pens. Each test pen contained both feed dispensers (rewarding and non-rewarding–the same as presented in the training period), placed in front of the gray or grating stimulus boards at the end of the pen (
Statistical Analyses
Data were statistically analyzed using SAS (SAS 9.4, Cary, NC, United States). Bird was used as the experimental unit for all tests. All data were tested for normality before analyses using the UNIVARIATE procedure. Data were analyzed as a one-way ANOVA using the MIXED procedure or PAR1WAY procedure for data not normally distributed. Tukey’s range test was used to separate means when significant differences were found. Differences were considered significant when P ≤ 0.05.
Results
Ocular Health
Chromatic PLR (cPLR) testing, which indicates retina and optic nerve functions after light stimulus, did not reveal any significant differences between birds reared on various light treatments. Likewise, both anterior segment biomicroscopy and indirect ophthalmoscopy did not reveal abnormalities in any birds, indicating no abnormalities in the fundus of the eye. Intraocular pressure, which, if high, can lead to glaucoma, was within normal limits in all birds and did not differ with the use of blue, green or white light during the production period of broilers (P = 0.74, Table 2).
TABLE 2
The effect of light color treatments on intraocular pressure (mmHg) of YPMx708 male broilers at 21 days of age (n = 36, Experiment 1, trial 1).
1Blue light–dominant wavelengths 435–500 nm, peak at 455 nm.
2Green light–dominant wavelengths 500–565 nm, peak at 510 nm.
3White light–range of wavelengths from 380 to 780 nm.
4SEM = Standard error of the mean.
Eye Measurements
Raising broilers under either blue, green or white lights had no effect on eye weight (P = 0.13) or dimensions (shape) of the eye, which, if altered, could impact image forming, including the corneal diameter (P = 0.95), mediolateral diameter (P = 0.14), dorsoventral diameter (P = 0.22) or anteroposterior size (P = 0.78, Table 3).
TABLE 3
| Light treatment | |||||
| Blue1 | Green2 | White3 | P-value | SEM4 | |
| Eye wt. (g) | 1.12 | 1.14 | 1.16 | 0.13 | 0.001 |
| Eye wt./body wt. (%) | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.51 | 0.236 |
| Corneal diameter (mm) | 6.40 | 6.39 | 6.42 | 0.95 | 0.029 |
| DV diameter5 (mm) | 13.94 | 14.06 | 14.19 | 0.22 | 0.073 |
| ML diameter6 (mm) | 13.92 | 13.94 | 14.16 | 0.14 | 0.060 |
| AP depth7 (mm) | 11.57 | 11.66 | 11.52 | 0.78 | 0.067 |
Effect of different light color treatments on left and right eye weight and dimensions of YPMx708 male broilers at 17 days of age (n = 108, Experiment 1).
1Blue light–dominant wavelengths 435–500 nm, peak at 455 nm.
2Green light–dominant wavelengths 500–565 nm, peak at 510 nm.
3White light–range of wavelengths from 380 to 780 nm.
4SEM = Standard error of the mean.
5Dorsoventral (DV) diameter.
6Mediolateral (ML) diameter.
7Anteriorposterior (AP) depth.
Refractive Index
Testing refraction, which, if altered, can lead to impacts on visual accommodation, leading to myopia or hyperopia, revealed that birds raised under blue light had a higher sphere index (0.625) than birds raised under white light (−0.020, P = 0.01). No differences were observed for cylinder (P = 0.62) and axis indices (P = 0.91, Table 4).
TABLE 4
| Light treatment | |||||
| Blue1 | Green2 | White3 | P-value | SEM4 | |
| Sphere | 0.625a | 0.083ab | −0.020b | 0.01 | 0.1032 |
| Cylinder | 0.604 | 0.458 | 0.667 | 0.62 | 0.0651 |
| Axis | 121.58 | 114.50 | 117.83 | 0.91 | 6.869 |
Effect of different light color treatments on the refraction index of YPMX708 male broilers at 26 days of age (n = 18, Experiment 1, trial 2).
a, bMeans with common letters do not differ significantly (P ≤ 0.05).
1Blue light–dominant wavelengths 435–500 nm, peak at 455 nm.
2Green light–dominant wavelengths 500–565 nm, peak at 510 nm.
3White light–range of wavelengths from 380 to 780 nm.
4SEM = Standard error of the mean.
Spatial Vision
Light treatment had an impact on spatial vision. Birds raised under blue light took less time to approach the stimulus from a distance of 50 (P = 0.03) and 75 cm (P = 0.006) and had a higher success rate (choosing the right dispenser) at 100 cm (P = 0.03) than birds raised under white light (Table 5).
TABLE 5
| Distance | 50 cm | 75 cm | 100 cm | |||||||
| Light treatment | ||||||||||
| Blue1 | White2 | P-value | Blue1 | White2 | P-value | Blue1 | White2 | P-value | SEM3 | |
| Average time to approach (s) | 8.6b | 15.8a | 0.03 | 5.9b | 27.1a | 0.006 | 11.7 | 13.2 | 0.42 | 2.27 |
| Success rate (%) | 91.7 | 91.7 | 1.00 | 91.7 | 66.7 | 0.11 | 91.7a | 50b | 0.03 | 4.69 |
The effect of light color treatments on spatial vision of YPMx708 male broiler chickens at 29 days of age (n = 24, Experiment 2).
a, bMeans with common letters do not differ significantly (P ≤ 0.05).
1Blue light–dominant wavelengths 435–500 nm, peak at 455 nm.
2White light–range of wavelengths from 380 to 780 nm.
3SEM = Standard error of the mean.
Discussion and Conclusion
As with light intensity and photoperiod, light wavelength can impact poultry behavior. As vision is important for birds, altering their ability to perceive their environment could potentially impact their welfare and affect behavior. Previous research has suggested that broilers raised under shorter wavelengths, including blue light, are less fearful and less stressed than broilers raised under green or white lights (see text foot note 1).
Ocular Health
In response to a light stimulus, the normal pupillary light reflex results in the sphincter muscle of the iris contracting or relaxing, resulting in dilation or constriction of the pupil. Ideal vision is usually correlated to a good pupillary response to light (
Anterior segment biomicroscopy was performed to screen for diseases in the anterior segment of the eye, including cataracts (
Indirect ophthalmoscopy was performed to assess the fundus of the eye, including the retina and pecten. Concerns in this area of the eye include damage to the photoreceptors present on the retina and impairment of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells, as the normal function of both photoreceptors and RPE cells are necessary for the development of vision (
Normal intraocular pressure for broilers has been reported to be in the range of 16 mmHg (
Eye Measurements
Normally, eye growth follows light-dark cues, with growth occurring during the photophase and decreased growth during the scotophase (
Refractive Index for Determination of Visual Accommodation
Results obtained from this test indicate the presence of emmetropia (normal vision), myopia, hyperopia or astigmatism. Light exposure is related to effects on emmetropization. In this dynamic process, the eye undergoes adjustments, so the image falls on the retina, instead of falling in front of the retina, leading to myopic defocus (nearsightedness) or behind the retina, leading to hyperopic defocus (farsightedness) (
Spatial Vision
To assess spatial vision, this study used visual acuity as an indicator via a “Grating Acuity Test”. This visual acuity test is commonly used for young children when language skills and letter identification are limited (
To our knowledge, spatial vision has not been assessed in broilers with respect to varying wavelength treatments. In our study, birds reared under blue light approached the feeder sooner (50 or 75 cm) and were more successful at choosing the right feeder (100 cm), indicating that overall, they had better visual acuity than birds raised under white light. Chickens have a peculiar spectral sensitivity curve as compared to humans. These animals possess a significantly greater spectral sensitivity between 380 and 486 nm, corresponding to the violet and blue colors (
In conclusion, in our study, no impact of light color was observed on pupil light reflex, anterior segment biomicroscopy, indirect ophthalmoscopy, intraocular pressure, eye shape or size. The exposure to constant blue light resulted in minor differences in refraction. Birds raised under blue light were slightly more far-sighted than birds raised under white light. Birds raised under blue light approached a novel object with less delay when the object was near (50 and 75 cm) and were more successful when approaching a preferred object from a farther distance (100 cm), suggesting a superior visual acuity than birds raised under white light. The minor differences observed on refraction index and eye health may indicate that vision was similar for birds reared under blue and white light, except for spatial acuity. The improved spatial vision observed may partially explain the behavioral differences perceived when broilers are raised under blue light.
Publisher’s Note
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Statements
Data availability statement
The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.
Ethics statement
The animal study was reviewed and approved by the Animal Care Committee of the University of Saskatchewan.
Author contributions
KS-L was the primary investigator. BR collected, analyzed and interpreted data, and drafted the manuscript. ML, MW, TS, TC, BF, NF, SG, and KS-L assisted with data collection and experimental design. All authors edited the manuscript.
Funding
This project was funded by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and Aviagen account number RGPIN-2016-05671.
Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and Aviagen for their financial support, and the University of Saskatchewan Poultry Centre staff and students for their technical assistance.
Conflict of interest
BF, SG, and NF are employees by Aviagen Inc. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Footnotes
1.^Remonato Franco, B., Shynkaruk, T., Crowe, T., Fancher, B., French, N., Gillingham, S., et al. (under review a). Light Color and the Commercial Broiler: Effect on Behavior, Fear and Stress.
2.^Remonato Franco, B., Shynkaruk, T., Crowe, T., Fancher, B., French, N., Gillingham, S., et al. (under review b). Does Light Color During Brooding and Rearing Impact Broiler Productivity?
3.^Remonato Franco, B., Shynkaruk, T., Crowe, T., Fancher, B., French, N., Gillingham, S., et al. (under review c). Light Wavelength and its Impact on Diurnal Rhythms and Broiler Health.
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Summary
Keywords
broiler, wavelength, light color, spatial vision, visual function
Citation
Remonato Franco B, Leis ML, Wong M, Shynkaruk T, Crowe T, Fancher B, French N, Gillingham S and Schwean-Lardner K (2022) Light Color and the Commercial Broiler: Effect on Ocular Health and Visual Acuity. Front. Physiol. 13:855266. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2022.855266
Received
15 January 2022
Accepted
16 February 2022
Published
10 March 2022
Volume
13 - 2022
Edited by
Sandra G. Velleman, The Ohio State University, United States
Reviewed by
Colin Guy Scanes, University of Arkansas, United States; Gregoy Y. Bedecarrats, University of Guelph, Canada
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Copyright
© 2022 Remonato Franco, Leis, Wong, Shynkaruk, Crowe, Fancher, French, Gillingham and Schwean-Lardner.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Karen Schwean-Lardner, karen.schwean@usask.ca
This article was submitted to Avian Physiology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Physiology
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