Classical music induces egg, milk production

Like humans, domesticated fowls and dairy cows love classical music, too.

Bach, Mozart, Beethoven.

Bring to their serene world lifting piped-in music of the masters and they will give you more eggs and milk in return. On the other hand, poultry and cattle farms set up in places "far from the madding crowd" have not been known to be profitable.

The essence of including nerve-soothing music as a factor to consider when planning an animal production venture came to the fore during the Second Agriculture and Fisheries Technology Forum held recently at the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR) in Diliman, Quezon City.

It was touched during the presentation of a report titled "Updates on Duck Nutrition and Recommended Feeding Guide for Mallard Duck Under Intensive Production System" by Dr. Jovita M. Datuin of the DA-Ilocos Integrated Agricultural Research Center (ILIARC).

Dr. Datuin, one of the country’s noted poultry scientists, tackled the breeding management and energy and protein requirements of Mallard duck (itik) and production technology of quality salted egg.

During the open forum, an observer asked if there had been study on the effect of good music on the egg-laying performance of ducks.

Someone volunteered the information that research had been done along this line in chicken and quail (pugo).

Dr. Datuin welcomed the idea of a similar study on duck with the support of a research-funding institution.

Over the years, studies have focused primarily on chicken.

Among those that had conducted research along this line were the UP College of Veterinary Medicine and the UP Los Baños College of Agriculture (UPLB-CA).

As former UPLB-CA dean Dr. Cecilio Arboleda once reported:

"Experiments have shown that when classical music such as the ones by Bach and Mozart is played, egg production is significantly increased. Hard rock music, on the other hand, significantly reduced egg and milk production."

Another study done years back also indicated that when the Clark Air Base was still operating in Pampanga, the noise created by low-flying aircraft affected the production level of poultry farms nearby.

The message is clear: Poultry and cattle raisers would do well to construct their animal farms in quiet places. And don’t forget to provide the animals piped-in classical music, too. — Rudy A. Fernandez