The Effect of Ahemeral Light and Dark cycles on the Performance of Laying Hens—(A Review)

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Abstract
Summary Pooled results from 15 published and 5 unpublished experiments are used to find the general relationship between length of light-dark cycle light cycles—ranging from 21 to 33h—and the laying performance of the birds. Cycle length affects the maximum frequency of oviposition by restricting it to one egg per cycle and thus alters egg size. With cycles shorter than 24h or longer than 25h, rate of lay declines almost linearly up to 33h cycles. Mean egg weight increases roughly in proportion to the decrease in rate of lay. Beyond 28h cycles, egg output is consistently lower than for controls on 24h cycles. Improvement in shell quality in the order of 6–10% can be expected following the use of 27h or 28h cycles.