Regulation LED green light in high-density culture mode of goslings

Meat goose can represent one of the most significant economic waterfowl in China. An excessively high stocking density can reduce the production performance and welfare of geese. Moreover, the light-emitting diode (LED) green light can play a pivotal role in regulating the growth and development of embryos and offspring in chickens. This study aims to determine the optimal regimen of LED green light in the high-density rearing mode of goslings. According to the actual production, a two-factor experiment was designed with the incubation light (dark and LED green) and growth light (LED white and LED green). A systematic analysis was made to explore the effects of LED green light on growth performance, intestinal development, blood hormones, feather quality, and pecking behaviors of geese in high-stocking density. The results show that the light intensities were 30–40 and 30–35 lx during the incubation and brooding period, respectively, with a light cycle of L:D = 24:0. The growth performance of geese was significantly improved by LED green light during the gosling brooding period. The LED green light during the growing period was found to significantly increase the body weight of geese at 14 days, as well as the daily gain and feed intake of geese for 1 to 14 days (P < 0.05). Furthermore, there was a significant decrease in the ratio of feed to gain of geese for 1 to 14 days (P < 0.05). A significant reduction was found in the concentration of serotonin and corticosterone in the blood, as well as the duodenal crypt depth of the geese at 14 days in the green light group during the growth period (P < 0.05), compared with the white light group. Furthermore, the LED green light irradiation during the growing period was observed to significantly increase the length of the chest and abdomen feathers of geese at 14 days post-hatching (P < 0.05), whereas, the back bare score of geese was reduced at 14 days post-hatching (P < 0.01), and the average pecking time and frequency of geese was reduced for 1 to 14 days post-hatching (P < 0.001). Thus, the green light environment during the growing period was significantly beneficial to the quality of the feathers and the development of geese plumage. The LED green light during the embryonic period was found to significantly reduce the average pecking time and frequency (P < 0.05) for better feather pecking behavior in geese. Moreover, the hatching procedure of green light outstandingly reduced the duodenal crypt depth (P < 0.01), where there was an increase in the jejunal villus height of geese at 14 days (P < 0.05), compared with the control group. The adverse effects of intensive farming were reduced on the intestinal development of geese. Moreover, there was no significant interaction to identify between the incubation and brood lights, in terms of the regulation of growth performance, intestinal development, blood hormones, feather quality (feather length, cleanliness, and damage degree), and feather pecking behavior of geese. Therefore, the LED green light shared the positive regulations on the negative effects of high-density rearing of goslings. Moreover, the LED green light during the growing period of goslings yielded superior outcomes. It is thus recommended that green light irradiation can be employed at the brood stage of goslings in actual production, in order to mitigate the adverse effects of modern intensive farming on goslings. The findings can provide a theoretical basis for the efficient production of geese.