Classical music makes egg layers more productive

In some big poultry and livestock farms in the country these days, it’s not uncommon to hear classical music being played.

No, the soothing and lilting musical pieces are not being played primarily for the hearing convenience of those tending the farms

These are for the benefit of the egg-laying fowls and milking cows. The reason: Piped-in music in poultry houses and dairy cattle barns can increase egg and milk production. On the other hand, hard rock music turns out the opposite results.

Over the years, several studies have been done on this interesting facet of animal production.

Among those that had looked into this exciting aspect of poultry and cattle raising were the UP College o Veterinary Medicine and UP Los Baños College of Agriculture.

In a scientific forum we attended years back, Dr. Cecilio Arboleda, then dea of the UPL-CA, 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."

One study done years back indicated that when the Americans still occupied Clark Air Base in Pampanga, poultry production near the military installation could hardly thrive because of the air-splitting noise and roars of low-flying aircraft.

The message is clear: Livestock producers would do well to put their animal farms in places "far from the madding crowd". Then, often, play the music of the masters – Beethoven, Mozar, Bach. You will certainly get profitable results. – Rudy A. Fernandez