Importance

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Abstract

An apparatus and method are described for raising poultry, such as chickens, for food production. A facility for housing the poultry includes a wall with at least one light-absorbing ventilation fan for ventilating the facility and a movable curtain covering a curtain opening. A controller operates the movable curtain to expose an interior of the facility to natural light cycles of an outside environment for a first period and regulating light cycles of the interior for a second period, thereby mimicking daylight duration variation representative of seasonal changes for stimulating sexual development of the poultry. Alternatively, the controller operates the movable curtain to limit exposure of an interior of the facility to light to produce a brown-out effect therein for enhancing physical development of the poultry. The light absorbing material of the fan facilitates the lighting effect achieved by the controller's operation of, for example, the movable curtain.

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First Claim