Table 3.
Parameters | Duration (Week) | UV-LED Exposure Time | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 h/day | 2 h/day | 3 h/day | 0 h/day | ||
Egg shell thickness (mm) | 0 week | 0.28 ± 0.02 | 0.28 ± 0.01 | 0.27 ± 0.01 | 0.26 ± 0.02 |
4 weeks | 0.27 ± 0.03 | 0.27 ± 0.02 | 0.29 ± 0.02 | 0.30 ± 0.01 | |
8 weeks | 0.26 ± 0.02 | 0.26 ± 0.01 | 0.28 ± 0.01 | 0.28 ± 0.02 | |
Egg shell weight (g) | 0 week | 6.5 ± 0.37 | 6.8 ± 0.26 | 6.6 ± 0.54 | 6.4 ± 0.64 |
4 weeks | 6.4 ± 0.72 | 6.8 ± 0.40 | 6.9 ± 0.84 | 7.0 ± 0.35 | |
8 weeks | 6.0 ± 0.43 | 6.3 ± 0.26 | 6.4 ± 0.63 | 6.7 ± 0.39 | |
Egg weight (g) | 0 week | 63.9 ± 2.55 | 66.9 ± 4.77 | 64.5 ± 4.75 | 59.6 ± 3.75 |
4 weeks | 64.3 ± 3.34 | 68.3 ± 1.93 | 65.3 ± 4.65 | 65.0 ± 3.23 | |
8 weeks | 60.0 ± 1.97 | 63.7 ± 2.14 | 61.1 ± 4.77 | 64.2 ± 1.14 | |
Egg yolk weight (g) | 0 week | 16.7 ± 1.00 | 16.9 ± 1.03 | 16.7 ± 0.98 | 15.9 ± 1.37 |
4 weeks | 16.9 ± 1.01 | 18.5 ± 1.21 | 18.0 ± 1.17 | 17.6 ± 0.64 | |
8 weeks | 17.8 ± 0.56 | 18.2 ± 0.97 | 17.4 ± 1.92 | 17.9 ± 1.07 | |
Egg shell strength (kg/cm3) | 0 week | 2.88 ± 0.53 b,A | 2.77 ± 0.65 c,A | 3.17 ± 0.48 a,A | 3.10 ± 0.71 a,B |
4 weeks | 2.72 ± 0.64 c,B | 2.50 ± 0.40 d,B | 2.95 ± 1.08 b,B | 3.30 ± 0.58 a,A | |
8 weeks | 2.70 ± 0.71 b,B | 2.30 ± 0.79 d,C | 2.56 ± 0.56 c,C | 3.37 ± 0.85 a,A |
During the 8 weeks experiment, UVB-LED light supplementation was provided for the birds in the three treatment groups (1 h, 2 h, and 3 h per day), while the control group was not exposed to UVB-LED light. Data are presented as the means ± standard error (SE). a, b, c, d: Within a row, different lowercase letters indicate significant differences (p < 0.05). A, B, C: Within a column, different capital letters indicate significant differences (p < 0.05).