Day‐length during rearing and the subsequent egg production of meat‐strain pullets

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Abstract
1. The effects of lighting pattern on production to 399 d in caged, female, meat‐strain chickens was investigated. Energy intake was controlled from 56 to 399 d. 2. Four different rearing treatments with a subsequent constant 16‐h photoperiod during laying were used. 3. A 15‐h rearing photoperiod resulted in delayed sexual maturity, increased mature body weight and decreases in both total egg numbers and the proportion of smaller eggs, compared with a 6‐h photoperiod. 4. Continuous light to 56 d, although associated with a high incidence of subsequent blindness, resulted in satisfactory egg production. 5. Abrupt reduction in the photoperiod from 15 to 6 h for the 112 to 167 d period resulted in unsatisfactory subsequent performance, especially when the day‐length was only slowly increased to 16 h during laying. 6. In the two laying treatments, in which the photoperiod was increased gradually from 6 to 16 h during the 168 to 238‐d period, a decrease in the number of smaller eggs occurred, compared with the treatments in which a single abrupt increase in photoperiod was used.