WHAT MATTERS TO THE SWINE PRODUCTION WITH LIGHTING? Swine See Differently
Pigs have dichromatic vision; in the pig's eye there are two sets of cones that give the animal peak wavelength sensitivity at 439 nm (blue color) and 556 nm (green color). The photoreceptors in a pig's eye cannot detect the
color red (>650 nm). Past research indicates that in order to get a physiological response from domestic pigsthe light exposure for "daylight" should be within the light spectrum of 380 to 580 nm. .
Swine See Differently
Eyes are undeniably one of our most important organs. It is where light penetrates the retina and stimulates multiple biological functions. The light we perceive is part of the electromagnetic spectrum our eyes can detectknown as the visible spectrum.
There are several aspects of artificial light important to swine producers:
Spectral composition: The distribution of light wavelengths (indicates how much of each color is present)
Photoperiod: The number of hours of light and dark in a 24-hours period.
Swine See Differently
Light intensity: The total amount of luminous power produced in the visual part of the light spectrum.
Using an inappropriate artificial lightor simply improperly measured light intensitieswill result in the illuminance(footcandlelux) being too high or too low. The consequences of inappropriate lighting may affect healthproduction and welfare of your animals due to the abnormal light-induced biological responses.
