Ultraviolet Irradiation of the Turkey Hen

Early studies involving the use of ultraviolet radiation on poultry dealt mainly with the antirachitic wave lengths and their effects on laying hens and chicks maintained on rachitogenic diets. Mussehl and Yung (1942), Hart et al. (1925), and Titus and Nestler (1935), demonstrated that satisfactory egg production could be maintained in chickens where irradiation with ultraviolet energy of antirachitic properties replaced the vitamin D supplement normally added to the diet. Their results indicated no stimulatory effect of ultraviolet radiation. Recently Barrott et al. (1951) reported that ultraviolet radiation from lamps whose maximum energy output occurred at 2,537 A units, stimulated hens fed complete diets to lay more eggs than where such energy was not provided. The ultraviolet supplied was in addition to the conventional source of visible light given off, in this case, by fluorescent lamps. To date, little or no data have been presented as to the reaction of …