Effect of light emitting diodes with different color temperatures on immune responses and growth performance of male broiler

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of the different color temperatures (Kelvin; K) of the light emitting diodes (LEDs) on broiler chicken health and growth performance compared to incandescent (ICD) light bulbs. Three hundred and sixty one-day-old Ross 308 male chicks were tested for 42 days. The chicks were randomly distributed into three treatment groups [neutral-white (4,286 K), warm-white (2,990 K), and ICD (2,790 K) light bulbs] of 120 chicks/treatment with six replicates each by adopting complete randomized design. The diets were similar for all treatment groups. The live body weight and feed intake were recorded weekly and feed conversion ratio (FCR) was calculated (weekly and whole period). Indices of humoral immunity [antisheep red blood cell (SRBC) titer, IgG, and IgM at 26 and 34 days of age], Newcastle disease (ND) virus and avian influenza (AI) virus antibody at 40 days of age, cell-mediated immunity [cutaneous basophilic hyper-sensitivity (CBH) response at 41 days of age)] as well as total and differential leukocyte numbers at 42 days of age) were measured. Effects of different color temperatures of the LEDs and ICD light bulbs on body weight, feed consumption, and FCR were not statistically significant (P>0.05). Also, the effect of color temperatures of light on secondary titers of SRBC, AI antibody response, CBH response, the total number of leukocytes and percentage of lymphocytes were not significant. However, the different color temperatures of LEDs have a significant effect on primary SRBC and ND antibody titers (P≤0.05). The highest primary SRBC (P≤0.05) and ND (P≤0.05) antibody titers were observed in warm-white light. It was concluded that based on the 3 color temperatures examined, it seems that the most suitable to provide the optimum level of immunity and energy-saving in commercial broiler houses is warm-white light.