Meta-analysis: Supplementary artificial light and goose reproduction

Abstract

Photoperiod affects poultry reproduction, and in birds, photoperiod regulation is a complex physiological process. In modern poultry production, lighting management has become an important and effective management approach for increasing egg production. Geese are domesticated fowl and in many goose production enterprises animals are allowed to roam in outside pens during the day and are housed indoors at night, so the animals can be exposed to artificial lighting during the night periods. Supplementary artificial lighting resulted in improved reproduction in some studies, but reports have been inconsistent. To evaluate the results from previous studies of supplementary lighting on goose egg production, a meta-analysis was conducted to determine optimal supplementary artificial lighting regimens for geese egg production. Results indicated supplementary artificial light increases mean egg production, the length of the period of egg production before there is cessation of egg production capacity, and fertility. In summary, there were evaluations of data from five studies focused on White Roman geese in the meta-analysis conducted in the present study, however, examination of more breeds is necessary to make more definitive assessments of the findings from this meta-analysis.