Effect of Light Cycles on Ovipositions and Egg Production

Abstract

VARIATIONS in the egg production rates of individual birds are undesirable in some fields of research. The precision with which experiments are conducted may be improved by reducing the uncontrolled variation or obtaining more observations. The present report suggests a way of reducing variation caused by unequal rates of production.The use of artificial light to increase egg production has stimulated considerable research on the mechanism of light stimulus. Most of these studies have been limited to intensity and to light/dark ratios within a 24-hour day. The “light-dark cycle” is associated with two expressions of laying behavior, rate of egg production and the time at which eggs are laid.The effect of the length of the light-dark cycle on egg production was demonstrated by Byerly and Moore (1941) who reported that both clutch length and total egg production were significantly greater during short periods of lay which were subdivided into .