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Review
. 2024 May;10(3):e1416.
doi: 10.1002/vms3.1416.

Climate change and broiler production

Oyegunle Emmanuel Oke  1   2 , Oluwaseun Ayomide Akosile  1 , Victoria Anthony Uyanga  3 , Folasade Olukemi Oke  4 , Aderanti Ifeoluwa Oni  1 , Kokou Tona  2 , Okanlawon Mohammed Onagbesan  1
Affiliations
Review

Climate change and broiler production

Oyegunle Emmanuel Oke et al. Vet Med Sci. 2024 May.

Abstract

Climate change has emerged as a significant occurrence that adversely affects broiler production, especially in tropical climates. Broiler chickens, bred for rapid growth and high meat production, rely heavily on optimal environmental conditions to achieve their genetic potential. However, climate change disrupts these conditions and poses numerous challenges for broiler production. One of the primary impacts of climate change on broiler production is the decreased ability of birds to attain their genetic potential for faster growth. Broilers are bred to possess specific genetic traits that enable them to grow rapidly and efficiently convert feed into meat. However, in tropical climates affected by climate change, the consequent rise in daily temperatures, increased humidity and altered precipitation patterns create an unfavourable environment for broilers. These conditions impede their growth and development, preventing them from reaching their maximum genetic influence, which is crucial for achieving desirable production outcomes. Furthermore, climate change exacerbates the existing challenges faced by broiler production systems. Higher feed costs impact the industry's economic viability and limit the availability of quality nutrition for the birds, further hampering their growth potential. In addition to feed scarcity, climate change also predisposes broiler chickens to thermal stress. This review collates existing information on climate change and its impact on broiler production, including nutrition, immune function, health and disease susceptibility. It also summarizes the challenges of broiler production under hot and humid climate conditions with different approaches to ameliorating the effects of harsh climatic conditions in poultry.

Keywords: adaptation; broiler; climate change; environments; tropics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no relevant financial or non‐financial conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Global chicken meat production in 2021 (measured in tonnes per year). Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Greenhouse gas emissions per kilogramme of food product (kgCO₂eq per kilogramme). Emissions were measured in carbon dioxide equivalents. Source : Adapted from OurWorldInData.org/environmental‐impacts‐of‐food (Poore & Nemecek, 2018).
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
The anomaly in the global average of land–sea temperature relative to the average of the period between 1961 and 1990. The red line depicts the average annual temperature trend over time, whereas the grey lines depict the upper and lower boundaries of the 95% confidence intervals. Source : Met Office Hadley Centre (HadCRUT5) OurWorldInData.org/co2‐and‐greenhouse‐gas‐emissions.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Diagram illustrating the impact of climate change on poultry production.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Tree shades behind poultry house for natural ventilation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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