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Lighting plays a key role in the success of a poultry operation. Because birds have a keen sense of sight, they are more sensitive than humans to lighting factors such as color, wavelength, intensity and flicker. This makes choosing the right bulb an important consideration.

In recent years, LED bulbs have become a popular option for a variety of lighting options, and most integrators have become more comfortable with using LED lighting for their flocks.

LED bulbs can be a great fit for your poultry barn lighting needs.

LED bulbs are most known for their potential to save you money on your electric bill. According to the US Department of Energy, some LED bulbs use up to 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs.

Colorwise, broad-spectrum LEDs have been shown to work well in poultry lighting systems. They are also able to dim smoothly, even at very low settings and they are resistant to flickering, which can be detrimental to bird health.

Any LED bulb can lead to energy savings, but purchasing the right bulbs for your poultry barn is essential.

How can you know if you’re purchasing the right bulb?

Make sure your bulb is rated for agricultural use
A poultry house can be a harsh environment for a light bulb. Moisture, dust and ammonia can all be detrimental to a bulb’s lifespan. Be sure to purchase a bulb that has been tested in a poultry house environment. Lower quality LED bulbs often dim less smoothly at lower levels, so don’t buy the cheapest bulbs you see at a big-box retailer. Do your research.
Never mix bulbs
Lighting consistency across your poultry barn is essential if you want consistent bird performance. Keep the same bulbs – color, brand, intensity, etc – throughout the house.
Directionality is important
The LED bulbs you purchase at a box store are often omnidirectional – meaning they put out light in every direction. This means that energy is wasted by light shining in places you don’t necessarily need it to go. Look for uni-directional bulbs to get the most out of your bulbs and energy spend.
Purchase a bulb with a 3-5 year warranty
A manufacturer that understands the poultry industry will stand behind its bulbs. A longer warranty will protect your investment as your bulbs deal with harsher conditions.

Changing the bulbs in your poultry lighting plan means asking a few quick questions.

There are several brands of LED bulbs that have been tested for their viability in poultry houses. However, be sure to check with your integrator to make sure they support the use of the brand you choose. Also, make sure that you have a dimmer that provides for smooth low-end dimming with LED bulbs.

While they may cost a little more on the front end than incandescent bulbs, LEDs will save you on overall energy costs while providing your operation with more options for a successful lighting program.

Broiler producers can’t be in every barn at once; that’s why technology like smart controllers and sensors are helping producers do more with the time they have.

Unlike poultry barn controllers of the past, today’s smart controller systems, such as EDGE, are designed to manage much more than just ventilation. These systems use a variety of sensors to gather data from across the barn to better control the environment and learn from how birds behave and the barns operate.

Sensors like these are vital to getting the most out of a smart system:

Temperature Sensor: Used to measure not only the internal and external temperature of the house but also variables such as the temperature of the water in the watering systems. These sensors are also important for controlling heaters and other barn equipment.
Humidity Sensor: Widely used to measure internal barn humidity and in some situations, external barn humidity through a meteorological probe.
Water meter (hydrometer): Used to measure the daily water consumption, it has huge importance due to the correlation between feed consumption and water consumption, if the chickens are eating, they are drinking (the opposite is also true). Through the water, consumption is possible to check the flock’s performance, even some diseases or issues related to the water or watering lines also feed or feeding lines.
Static Pressure Sensor: Static pressure sensors compare the external and internal pressure of the house with a goal of keeping the internal pressure constant. They help producers manage inlets, tunnel doors and exhaust fans to help maintain the most consistent air velocity and the greatest energy efficiency.
Ammonia (NH3) Sensor: No less important than the other parameters, ammonia concentration is a serious problem that needs to be avoided, as excess ammonia causes damage to the development of the flock.
CO2 Sensor: Just like temperature, humidity and ammonia, understanding CO2 concentration is essential for precision poultry production. The correct rate of air renewal can have a direct impact on flock development, and managing CO2 levels is even more critical during the brooding period – when direct burner heaters can increase the CO2 levels in the bird environment. The use of a CO2 sensor can also lead to energy cost savings, especially in the colder season when internal temperature is so important.

Connecting sensors to the EDGE controller is as simple as plugging them in to create a better environment for your birds.

CUMBERLAND EDGE CONTROLLER SAVES POULTRY PRODUCERS MONEY, REDUCES WEAR AND TEAR

Let’s say you walk into a restaurant. When your food arrives, the portions are small and it doesn’t look or smell great. You probably aren’t going to eat it, and it’s doubtful that you would be coming back.

Birds feel the same way about feed.

If you want to get the most out of your flock, they have to convert feed well, and in order to keep them coming back to the feeder pan, they need to be happy with what’s in front of them.

Here are a few things poultry producers should consider to keep their birds coming back for more:

Presentation: Birds want to like what they see in their feeders and waterers. It’s important to keep the feed and water fresh and the feeders and waterers clean. If the birds don’t like the presentation of their feed, they won’t eat as much and won’t grow as efficiently as you need them to.
Accessibility: The lip of your feeder or waterer should be even with the bird’s back. This prevents spilled feed and waste – birds won’t eat food that’s on the ground. Each bird needs about 3-4 inches of feeder space and 1 inch of waterer space. This means adjustments will need to be made as birds grow to help them stay productive.
Flow: Birds like to have feed available on demand – in fact, it’s essential for good feed conversion. So you need to have consistent feeder flow throughout your barns. A good control pan is key to having the right flow.

PRO TIP

House environment: While this isn’t necessarily considered part of feeder presentation, the poultry house environment can play a big role in how well your birds convert feed. Keeping barns and birds at an ideal temperature is essential to bird health.

THE IDEAL POULTRY ENVIRONMENT

Check out our full line of pan feeders.

Proper lighting in poultry barns has everything to do with bird growth. Proper lighting can improve feed conversion rates which leads to increases in bird weight and maintains consistency in the lifespan of the animal. However, a poor lighting system can inhibit growth and cause an animal to grow too fast, leading to bird health concerns.

There are three key considerations for proper poultry barn lighting:

Intensity: How many foot candles of light you have in your barn
Spectrum: Color- which poultry see differently than humans
Duration: How long the lights are on, often with the goal of creating a natural sunrise and sunset pattern for the welfare of the birds

Poultry lighting companies will give their own opinion about the best ways to handle these considerations, but the key is to find a program that works for your operation.

Here’s an example of how some companies run their broiler lighting plan.

Days	Light (hrs)	Dark (hrs)	Intensity (lux)
0	23	1	20
1-2	20	4	20
3-4	18	6	20
5-14	6	18*	5
15-21	10	14*	5
22-28	14	10*	5
29-35	18	6	5
36-42	24	0	5

* Denotes addition of 1 hr light in middle of dark period. (Program adapted from Classen and Goldkist, Inc.)

Quality Light Bulbs Make a Difference

For years, LED bulbs were simply too expensive for most poultry producers to use in their operation. But today’s LED bulbs are more affordable, and the energy savings mean the costs can be recouped fairly quickly. The big concern now is lower quality bulbs working with high quality dimmers. Low quality bulbs can negate the positive impact of a quality dimmer and a well thought out lighting program, so make sure you are buying the proper bulbs for your dimmer system.

Not All Dimmers are Created Equal

There are a number of good dimmers on the market. The key is to find one that smoothly increases and decreases intensity from top to bottom, limits the flicker that can agitate chickens, and accepts a variety of bulbs.

Cumberland’s premier dimmer, Versillum, does all this and integrates nicely with smart controllers, such as the EDGE controller.

Source Chart – Controlling Light in Broiler Production, National Poultry Technology Center

THE IDEAL POULTRY ENVIRONMENT