Broiler Farming in the Face of Accelerating Climate Change: Risks for Production and Food Security

Climate change poses significant challenges to poultry farming, particularly when broiler farms rear chickens in suboptimal housing conditions. The objective of the present study was to examine the impact of climate change, expressed through the Temperature Humidity Index (THI), on quantitative (carcass yields, pectoral muscles, thighs and drumsticks, and abdominal fat rate) and qualitative production parameters (composition of muscles in dry matter, mineral matter, crude proteins, and fat). The study was conducted in two separate poultry buildings over 45 days in northern Algeria. A total of 300 one-day-old unsexed chicks were randomly allocated into three replicates of 50 broilers each per building. The conditions of temperature and relative humidity were strictly regulated in control group but it was unregulated, exposing birds to natural climate variations in the experimental group. The impact of climate change, represented by the Temperature Humidity Index (THI), on carcass yield, pectoralis major and minor (pectoral muscles), sartorius and gastrocnemius (thigh and drumstick muscles), as well as abdominal fat content were evaluated. The results revealed that the control group was exposed to THIs of 30.88, 20.45, and 19.19, while the experimental group was subjected to THIs of 33.07, 31.48, and 30.87 for the three growth phases. The increase in THI resulted in significant proportional deteriorations in the experimental group compared to the control group, for all the parameters under study, particularly at the end of breeding. There were reductions in yields of -6.12% for eviscerated carcasses, -8.16% for thighs and drumsticks, and -9.28% for pectoral muscles. Furthermore, the abdominal fat rate increased by +21.03%. The nutritional composition of pectoral muscles showed that chickens in the experimental group had +6.17% dry matter, +13.23% fat, -13.88% mineral matter, and -8.78% crude proteins. A similar trend was observed for thigh and drumstick muscles, with +6.10% dry matter, +14.39% fat, -12.28% mineral matter, and -12.50% crude proteins. The study highlighted the impact of climate change on poultry farming, which potentially affects production and threatens food security.