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Impact of heat stress on poultry production

Jyotsnarani Biswal, Kennady Vijayalakshmy, Bhattacharya T. K & Habibar

Rahman

To cite this article: Jyotsnarani Biswal, Kennady Vijayalakshmy, Bhattacharya T. K & Habibar
Rahman (2022) Impact of heat stress on poultry production, World's Poultry Science Journal,
78:1, 179-196, DOI: 10.1080/00439339.2022.2003168

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00439339.2022.2003168

Published online: 14 Dec 2021.

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WORLD’S POULTRY SCIENCE JOURNAL
2022, VOL. 78, NO. 1, 179–196
https://doi.org/10.1080/00439339.2022.2003168

Impact of heat stress on poultry production

Jyotsnarani Biswal a, Kennady Vijayalakshmya, Bhattacharya T. Kb
and Habibar Rahmana
a
South Asia Regional Office, International Livestock Research Institute, New Delhi, India; bMolecular
Genetics, ICAR – Directorate of Poultry Research (DPR), Hyderabad, India

SUMMARY KEYWORDS
The ever-increasing demand for meat and egg has placed the poultry Heat stress; poultry;
sector as a priority farming avenue for both small-scale backyard production; reproduction;
farming by rural farmers and commercial enterprises. The elevated immunity; disease
temperature over the years has been affecting poultry production
systems through reduced growth and egg production all over the
world. At a time when heat stress is perceived as a universal issue,
and with climate change predicted to have a further significant
impact on global temperature increase, the adverse impact on the
poultry sector is expected to intensify further. An extensive review is
made to discuss the impact of such heat stress on feed intake and
feed conversion efficiency, poultry growth and production, egg pro­
duction, physiology, reproduction, immunity and disease incidence.
Advanced biotechnology tools can be used to identify suitable mole­
cular markers and design worthy breeding programmes, which may
lead to the development of heat tolerance strains in poultry. Further,
suitable mitigation strategies have also been suggested for reducing
the impact of such stress conditions on the poultry for minimising the
economic loss of poultry growers.

Introduction
The poultry sector has been recognised as one of the fastest-growing industries among
the agricultural sectors globally (FAO 2013). The ever-increasing demand for meat and
egg, together with their availability as the cheapest source of animal protein, has been
instrumental for such unparalleled growth. While the increasing growth of the sector is
often credited to commercial poultry, the role of backyard poultry in keeping such
growth pace in developing and under-developed countries has been quite significant,
and therefore, it deserves much more attention. In several developing countries, the
indigenous breeds comprise a large share of the overall poultry population, often higher
than 80% (FAO 2013). Of all the livestock sectors, the poultry sector is perhaps the most
flexible, having a great deal of scale-neutrality in adoption. A continued source of income
from the sale of eggs and meat even with small flocks, and ease of marketing of the
products has been real encouragement for the adoption of poultry farming by rural
farmers. The importance of backyard poultry production in the livelihood development

CONTACT Kennady Vijayalakshmy V.Kennady@cgiar.org South Asia Regional Office, International Livestock
Research Institute, New Delhi 110012, India
© 2021 World’s Poultry Science Association.
180 J. BISWAL ET AL.

of rural communities, eradication of poverty and nutritional security has been greatly
acknowledged. Poultry production although broadly referred to as the rearing of chick­
ens, ducks, geese, quails, turkeys, ostriches, Guinea fowl, etc., is often considered synon­
ymous with chicken production. In most countries, chickens account for > 90% of the
total poultry population (FAO 2013).
The history of the use of poultry meat as a food source for human beings, hitherto, has
been known for over 8000 years (Nyoni et al. 2018). In the present times, the poultry
sector is regarded as an important alternative source of red meat, besides demonstrating
its enormous potential for the continued supply of cheap animal protein and a significant
provider of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), particularly the omega (n)-3
fatty acids. The lower enteric methane production rates by poultry compared to those of
ruminant livestock species make it advantageous in terms of lower greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions and thereby leading to environmental wellbeing (Wang and Huang
2005; Boontiam et al. 2016). The study, however, showed that GHG emissions from layer
chickens are twice that of broiler chickens (Boontiam et al. 2016).
Globally, the average per capita consumption of poultry meat has increased several
folds, from just 3 kg in 1960 to 15 kg in 2017, which is further projected to rise to 17 kg in
2030 (Reay 2019). At a time when demand for poultry meat has increased significantly,
leading to increasing thrust on production and productivity from the sector, the pressure
exerted due to heat stress has been a major setback for sustaining the production growth.
It has been predicted that due to the climate change impacts the global average surface
temperature by 2100 would be increased between 1.88°C and 4.08°C (IPCC 2007).
Climate change will influence poultry farming globally and affect the animal’s beha­
vioural and physiological activities because of a different range of thermal conditions,
relative humidity and light (Bhadauria et al. 2014; Ayo-Enwerem et al. 2017). The adverse
impact of heat stress, significantly affecting livestock and poultry production systems
through reduced growth, reproductive efficiency and immune response has been widely
reported. There have been efforts to put forth such vast information generated on the
impact of heat stress on different aspects of poultry production. It is, however, necessary
that new information generated in recent years is analysed and documented, and further
recommendations are made for effective management and sustainable growth of the
poultry farming sector. A sincere effort has therefore been made to review the latest
available information on the impact of such heat stress on poultry and to suggest suitable
mitigation strategies to reduce the resultant loss in production, thereby minimising the
economic loss of poultry growers.

Impact on poultry growth and egg production

The environmental parameters viz. temperature, relative humidity and light intensity
were found to have a great influence on the production performance and health of the
chicken (Elijah and Adedapo 2006; Hammed et al. 2016). Lin et al. (2006) reported the
optimal temperature for better production performance in laying hens and growing
broilers to be between 19°C to 22°C and 18°C to 22°C, respectively. The impact of
increased environmental temperature on the growth performance of birds has been
extensively studied (Leenstra and Cahaner 1992; Yoon and Washburn 1995; Abu-
Dieyeh 2006). Ambient temperature significantly influences the growth and survival of
 WORLD’S POULTRY SCIENCE JOURNAL 181

poultry. The hot climate was found to result in decreased hen-day production, higher
mortality, higher maintenance and reproductive failure (Ahaotu et al. 2017; Ononiwu
et al. 2017; Nkwocha et al. 2018). Since both temperature and humidity interact to affect
thermal conditions, the Temperature-Humidity Index (THI) can be an important indi­
cator in the evaluation of heat stress. Studying the effects of different THI conditions on
laying hens, Kang et al. (2020) observed that acute elevation of THI has more severe
effects on mortality than gradual changes even at similar temperature and humidity
conditions. Ahaotu et al. (2019b) reported 8.4% mortality in broilers when ambient
temperature increased to 34°C. Developed through selection, broiler chickens having
higher growth are much less thermo-tolerant than layers (Yahav 2009). To maximise the
genetic potential of modern broilers, there is a necessity to determine the appropriate
microenvironments and validate the interrelationship of temperature and light intensity
(Olanrewaju et al. 2010).
Studies have shown that heat stress to have wider implications on poultry, which can
be characterised by reduced feed consumption, decreased body weight gain, higher feed
conversion ratio, reduced metabolic rate, lipid peroxidation, endocrine disorders,
immune suppression and intestinal microbial symbiosis (Howlider and Rose 1989; Lan
et al. 2004; Sohail et al. 2010, 2011; Bhadauria et al. 2014; Biswal et al. 2020; Vandana et al.
2021). Sohail et al. (2012) showed chronic heat stress to reduce the production perfor­
mance of the broiler, its intestinal microarchitecture and increase adrenal hormone
concentrations. Humidity in the atmosphere was also found to affect broiler chicken
significantly. With the increase in humidity, the birds lose the ability to cool themselves
through evaporation (Reay 2019). High ambient temperatures together with high humid­
ity can result in a devastating impact on commercial broilers even resulting in the death
of poultry in extreme cases (Bhadauria et al. 2014; Oloyo 2018). To maintain body
temperature under heat stress conditions, the birds change their behavioural and phy­
siological responses by seeking thermoregulation. While the acute heat stress in poultry
may be known from the signs of gasping, panting, spreading of wings, lethargic and
droopy acting, closed eyes, lying down, increased water intake, reduced feed consump­
tion, etc., the chronic heat stress may lead to reduced growth, drop in egg production,
reduced egg size and weight and reduced eggshell thickness and increased egg breakage
(Cooper and Washburn 1998; Sahin et al. 2001; Lin et al. 2002; Mashaly et al. 2004;
Allahverdi et al. 2013; Dayyani and Bakhtiari 2013; Bhadauria et al. 2014; Pawar et al.
2016).
High ambient temperature is considered to be the most important factor affecting
egg production in the laying hens, showing a significant decrease in the number and
weight of eggs (Khan and Sarda 2003; Mashaly et al. 2004; Ebeid et al. 2012; Nawab
et al. 2018). Studying the effect of genotypic variations on the productivity of two
strains of White Leghorn laying hens, Mack et al. (2013) reported a reduction in egg
production in both strains under heat stress. Such a result was attributed to the
adaptive stress response by the bird to conserve metabolic energy (Mumma et al.
2006). Working with White Leghorn hens under the hot climate of the average daily
temperature of 30–33°C and RH 70–80% inside the house, Ebeid et al. (2012) observed
eggshell breaking strength, eggshell thickness, eggshell percentage and eggshell density
to be negatively affected.
182 J. BISWAL ET AL.

The long-term selection of poultry for higher growth over the years has resulted in the
development of new genotypes with higher metabolic activity and growth. Such birds,
however, have been characterised by the production of more body heat and lower heat
tolerance (Pawar et al. 2016), which also make them more sensitive to changes in
environmental temperature (Settar et al. 1999; Deeb and Cahaner 2002).

Impact on feed consumption

The feed demand for chickens increases at higher ambient temperatures compared to
that of thermo-neutral environments (Olanrewaju et al. 2010). Birds exposed to high
ambient temperatures consume less feed, drink more water, pant and spread wings away
from the body (Mack et al. 2013; Ahaotu and Agunanne 2017). With the atmospheric
temperature reaching a critical level, the poultry tends to reduce voluntary feed intake,
thereby maintaining constant body temperature (Chand et al. 2014; Nyoni et al. 2018;
Vandana et al. 2021). Less feed consumption lowers the feed conversion efficiency and
thereby results in slower growth. Okonkwo and Ahaotu (2019) reported a reduction of
feed consumption in chickens from 108.3 g/bird/day to 68.9 g/bird/day with the increase
in environmental temperature from 31.6°C to 37.9°C and further decline of egg produc­
tion by 6.4%. Deng et al. (2012) registered a reduction in feed intake of 28.58 g/bird/day
in commercial hens (Hy-Line Brown) subjected to heat stress (34°C) for a 12-days period,
which further resulted in a 28.8% decrease in egg production. Broilers subjected to
chronic heat stress (35 ± 2°C) for 42 days showed a reduction of feed intake by 16.4%
and body weight by 32.6% and increased feed conversion ratio by 25.6% (Sohail et al.
2012). Studying the impact of heat stress on two chicken types, Lu et al. (2007) recorded
decreased feed intake by about 3.4% in Arbor Acres broilers (a commercially fast-
growing strain) and 1.7% in Beijing You (a locally slow-growing breed) per degree
increase in temperature between 21°C and 34°C. The results also indicated higher
resistance of local Beijing You breed against high ambient temperature, which was
corroborated to increased feed efficiency, and deposition of abdominal fat. Heat stress
has also been shown to reduce dietary digestibility (Bonnet et al. 1997). Although it is
known that broilers are highly efficient in converting feed to high-quality meat, this
cannot always be the case as much of the nutrients ingested are not adequately digested
and utilised but are lost through excretion (Changa et al. 2019).

Impact on animal behaviour, body physiology and reproduction

As poultry do not sweat, it depends on panting to lose heat (Yahav et al. 2004; Mutaf
et al. 2009; Rostagno 2020). However, panting is effective only at low humidity, and
therefore, hot and humid conditions become very stressful for the poultry compared to
that hot dry conditions. The birds use excretion as another mode to lose their body
heat. Hence, during the hot climate, such birds usually increase their water intake
substantially and excrete heat through urine and wet faeces (Pawar et al. 2016). The
reduced feed intake in heat stress conditions may lead to inadequate energy availability,
thereby leading the hens to usage energy away from their biological functions like
reproduction and temporary ceasing of laying eggs to maintain physiological integrity
(Mack et al. 2013).
 WORLD’S POULTRY SCIENCE JOURNAL 183

Subjected to heat stress conditions, Lara and Rostagno (2013) reported a decrease in
overall productivity in poultry with behavioural, physiological and immunological varia­
tions. In such environments, birds tend to change their behaviour and physiological
homoeostasis to aid thermoregulation, thereby reducing body temperature (Mack et al.
2013; Farag and Alagawany 2018; Ranjan et al. 2019). Studying the behaviour of laying
hens, the heat-stressed hens spent less time walking, and more time drinking and resting.
High environmental temperatures together with high humidity reduce the fertility
levels in poultry breeders, leading to reduced hatchability (Bhadauria et al. 2014).
Exposing the male broiler breeders to an elevated temperature of 32°C, McDaniel et al.
(1996) reported male fertility declined to 42%, and in vivo sperm-egg penetration
declined to 52%, compared to the values obtained in males maintained at 21°C. The
higher temperatures affect the semen characteristics, such as consistency, semen volume,
sperm concentration, percentage of live sperm cells and seminal volume considerably
(McDaniel et al. 1995; McDaniel et al. 2004). Further, the gamete formation and the
fertilisation process were also found to be impacted by seasonal temperature fluctuations
(Ahaotu et al. 2019a).
Heat stress was found to induce infertility in farm animals and also in domestic
chickens (Nawab et al. 2018). Such stress due to elevated temperature impairs the
secretion of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone viz. FSH and LH in the laying birds,
and disturbing reproductive performance (Ayo et al. 2011). Working on semen char­
acteristics in male ostriches, Bonato et al. (2014) reported heat-associated infertility.
Ameen et al. (2014) reported reduced spermatozoa motility due to depreciating qualita­
tive and quantitative seminal characteristics, thereby resulting in infertility. Furthermore,
Noiva et al. (2014) observed impairment of embryonic growth and development in
chicken subjected to chronic heat stress conditions. Heat stress is also a major source
of systemic oxidative stress, which leads to lipid peroxidation, protein nitration, DNA
damage and apoptosis in the cells/tissues (Mishra and Jha 2019).

Impact of immunity and disease incidence

Heat stress was found to affect the intestinal colonisation of enteric pathogens in birds,
affecting the horizontal transmission of pathogens between birds (Quinteiro-Filho et al.
2012). It was also reported increasing the susceptibility to bacterial infections in poultry
due to the increased pathogenic bacteria load in the gut and increased level of enteric
permeability (Al-Fataftah and Abdelqader 2014; Liu et al. 2018; Wu et al. 2018). The
immune response in poultry is suppressed under exposure to heat stress, which increases
the susceptibility to infectious diseases affecting production performance and welfare
(Monson et al. 2018). Bartlett and Smith (2003) witnessed lower levels of total circulating
antibodies and lower levels of specific IgM and IgG in broilers in a study carried out
under elevated temperatures. The increase in cortisol concentrations in the blood
associated with a reduction in leucocyte function and antibody level in heat stress may
decrease disease resistance power in birds (Zulkifli et al. 2000; Mashaly et al. 2004;
Garriga et al. 2006; Star et al. 2008; Quinteiro-Filho et al. 2010). Heat stress further
leads to developmental abnormalities in both primary and secondary lymphoid organs of
broiler chicken including impairing functional maturation of T and B lymphocytes
(Hirakawa et al. 2020).
184 J. BISWAL ET AL.

The quails under heat-stressed conditions showed an increase in tumour necrosis

factor α (TNF- α) and interleukin (IL)-6 (Sahin et al. 2010). Subject to heat stress, the
immunocompetence of poultry is found to be affected through reduced antibody
production against immunised antigens (Mashaly et al. 2004; Habibian et al. 2013;
Jahanian and Rasouli 2015; Hajializadeh et al. 2017). The heat-induced immunosup­
pression, however, may depend on the length and intensity of heat exposure and the
type of breeds (Regnier et al. 1980; Henken et al. 1982). Further, global warming
increases the incidence of heat stress conditions leading to immunosuppression,
although the exact underlying molecular mechanism is yet to be elucidated. Hence,
the new breeding strategy may direct the production of chickens that adapt to heat-
stressed conditions, ultimately reducing the burden incidence of infectious diseases
(Hirakawa et al. 2020).

Impact on meat quality

Studies have shown a marked reduction in the meat quality and a change in colour of
breast muscle in chicken under acute heat stress conditions (Holm and Fletcher 1997;
Petracci et al. 2001; Petracci et al. 2004; Akşit et al. 2006; Zhang et al. 2012; Fouad et al.
2016; Wang et al. 2017). Similarly, chronic heat exposure was also found to adversely
affect the meat quality by changing the aerobic metabolism, glycolysis and intramuscular
fat deposition (Hashizawa et al. 2013; Lu et al. 2007; Lu et al. 2017). Observing decreased
body protein content, protein gain, protein retention and protein intake ratio in broiler
chicken under chronic heat stress, Geraert et al. (1996) inferred that such stress condi­
tions change the protein metabolism, decrease protein synthesis and increase the cata­
bolic rate. A similar decrease in muscle protein synthesis and accelerated protein
breakdown at higher environmental temperatures was witnessed in several other studies
with poultry (Yunianto et al. 1997; Temim et al. 2000; Zhang et al. 2012). The increased
production of lactate in muscle leads to declining pH value by accelerating meat
glycolysis, affecting the broiler’s meat quality (Zhang et al. 2012). Heat stress is further
known to increase the accumulation of lactate and lower the pH, and such a decline in pH
could accelerate the production of ROS, resulting in protein oxidation (Estévez 2011;
Zaboli et al. 2019). A study carried out by Tavaniello et al. (2020) on chickens stimulated
in ovo with trans-galactoolighosaccarides (GOS) showed GOS could mitigate the detri­
mental effect of heat stress on some meat quality traits, including increasing monounsa­
turated fatty acid content. Heat stress was also reported reducing the deposition of
protein and intramuscular fat in the breast muscles, reducing the meat quality and
nutritive value in broilers (Lu et al. 2017; Zaboli et al. 2019).

Mitigation measures of heat stress

Multidisciplinary approaches are required to reduce the heat stress on livestock and
poultry such as animal housing and management, nutritional modifications, biotechnol­
ogy applications and improve the health service (Sejian et al. 2012; Vandana et al. 2021).
Scientific studies on mitigation strategies to heat stress in such farmed animals although
are largely confined to a specific approach, farmers are often resorting to several of the
recommended strategies for deriving maximum benefits.
 WORLD’S POULTRY SCIENCE JOURNAL 185

It becomes important to keep poultry cool in hot weather conditions. Therefore,

poultry houses must be provided with proper ventilation for maintaining the air velocity
in the house and thereby the birds maintain their body temperature by sensible heat loss.
An effective ventilation system also helps in air movement, removing ammonia, moisture
and carbon dioxide from the poultry house and facilitating the entry of fresh oxygen from
outside (Butcher and Miles 2012). The ventilation can also be made effective with the use
of circulation fans, which can produce air movement over the birds and increase
convective cooling (Pawar et al. 2016). The heat radiation from the roofs and hot walls
may affect the bird. With the use of improved barn designs and modern ventilation
systems, the incidence of large-scale deaths of chickens due to heatwaves has been
reduced drastically in the developed world in recent years. The benefit of the natural
shade of the trees can be effectively used to provide cooler climatic conditions for poultry
in free-range systems during the hottest days (Reay 2019; Saeed et al. 2019).
According to Sirohi and Michaelowa (2007), birds not exposed to heat will be more
susceptible to thermal stress than the birds adapted to such conditions over time. Early
age heat conditioning has been used as an important strategy for improving the heat
tolerance in poultry, especially in broilers (Pawar et al. 2016; Vandana et al. 2021). Heat
exposure for 24 h at 5 days of age is described as early age thermal/heat conditioning –
a technique to increase the resistance of broiler chickens to acute heat stress during the
finishing period (Yahav and Hurwitz 1996; Yahav and Plavnik 1999). Lin et al. (2006)
advocated early heat conditioning of chicks by exposing them to a higher temperature
(36°C) for 24 hours at 3 to 5 days of age. Daghir (2009) reported >60% growth reduction
in broiler due to reduced feed intake. Reduction of dietary protein and increase the
energy are advocated as some of the nutritional interventions in poultry against heat
stress (Laudadio et al. 2012; Ratriyanto et al. 2017). Working with laying hens, Torki et al.
(2015) advocated reducing dietary crude protein levels from 16.5% to 12.0% and supple­
menting the diets with the essential amino acids for improving the stress response and
maintaining the production performance under high-temperature conditions. However,
Awad et al. (2019) suggested reducing dietary crude protein in broilers when they are
exposed to moderate but not chronic heat stress conditions.
To overcome the issue of reduced feed intake in hot regions, the addition of fat in the
feed is advocated to boost energy levels (Ghazalah et al. 2008; Daghir 2009). This also
reduces the specific dynamic effect of the diet, helping the birds to deal with heat stress
(Daghir 2009). Dietary addition of ammonium chloride and potassium chloride has been
found to overcome the issue of alkalosis caused during heat stress conditions, improving
water and feed intake by the broilers, leading to improved growth (Ahmad et al. 2008;
Fisinin and Kavtarashvili 2015; Yosi et al. 2017).
Intestinal homoeostasis and gut health are targeted to tackle the direct effects of acute
heat stress. Slawinska et al. (2019a) reported an increase in expression of immune- and
stress-related genes in heat-stressed animals despite unbalanced intestinal flora.
Interestingly, a bifidogenic effect following in ovo galactooligosaccharides (GOS) stimu­
lation in adult chickens was reported along with the modulation in gene expression
involved in intestinal function and immunity. Bertocchi et al. (2019) reported
a favourable effect of in ovo injection of a galactooligosaccharide prebiotic in broiler
chickens subjected to heat stress. Furthermore, the broilers provided with probiotics or
186 J. BISWAL ET AL.

prebiotics as feed supplementation were found to have a significant influence on the

intestinal microbiome, improving intestinal absorption and further the performance of
the poultry subjected to heat stress (Silva et al. 2010; Sohail et al. 2011; Pawar et al. 2016).
Providing a diet supplemented with 0.5% mannan-oligosaccharide and 0.1% probiotic
mixture, Sohail et al. (2012) could find a reduction in detrimental effects of chronic heat
stress in the broilers. Studying dietary supplements of Lactobacillus (1 g/kg) in two
commercial broiler strains (Hubbard × Hubbard and Shaver × Shaver) under heat stress
conditions, Zulkifli et al. (2000) demonstrated improved performance in terms of higher
food intake, weight gain and antibody production over the treatments provided with
oxytetracycline (50 mg/kg) and also control. Deng et al. (2012) observed significant
positive impacts in overcoming the issues of declining egg production and feed intake,
restoring the impaired villus structure and sustaining a balanced mucosal immune
response in heat-stressed Hy-Line Brown commercial hens fed on a diet supplemented
with Bacillus licheniformis at 107 cfu/g. Supplementation of a probiotic mixture of
Bacillus subtilis and Enterococcus faecium in laying hens under heat stress conditions
was further reported to improve the egg-shell thickness, egg-shell strength, albumen
height, gut microbiota and intestinal integrity. Slawinska et al. (2020) suggested that
improved intestinal health is a key factor in mitigating negative effects of environmental
stressors in broiler chickens and the study by them showed early modulation of the
intestinal microbiota used in ovo stimulation with galactooligosaccharides as an efficient
and cost-effective method for improving different traits.
An increase in excretion of minerals from the body along with reduced levels of
vitamins and mineral concentrations in the liver and serum of birds have been reported
under heat stress conditions (Sahin et al. 2009). Dietary supplementation of vitamins and
minerals is therefore of paramount importance to improve growth and decrease mortal­
ity levels in poultry during such heat stress. Sahin and Kucuk (2003) reported the
widespread use of antioxidant vitamins and minerals in the feed of poultry reared
under heat stress conditions as an aspect of nutritional management measures. Dietary
supplementation of vitamin A and vitamin E at high temperatures is found to have
a beneficial effect on the egg production in hens and also increasing yolk and albumen in
eggs (Kirunda et al. 2001; Lin et al. 2002; Attia et al. 2017; Kumari et al. 2018; Karami et al.
2018). Furthermore, micronutrients viz. copper, zinc and selenium also help in over­
coming stressful conditions (Karami et al. 2018). Ratriyanto et al. (2017) reported
improved feed intake and egg quality variables in laying quails supplemented with feed
additives like betaine at 0.06–0.12% during heat stress conditions. Diet added with 0.5%
cinnamon powder was also found to enhance the FCR of heat-stressed broilers (Sadeghi
and Moghaddam 2018).
To combat climate-mediated heat stress, newer methods are being explored includ­
ing the production of heat resilient poultry through genetic marker-assisted selection.
For the same identification of SNP markers linked to heat shock protein genes become
important (Yu et al. 2008; Chen et al. 2013; Nawab et al. 2018). The naked neck (Na),
frizzle (F) genes and dwarf gene (dw) are some of the superior thermo-tolerant genes
identified which made the bird resistant to heat stress (Vandana and Sejian 2018).
HSP70 and HSP90 are identified as ideal thermo-tolerant genes for heat stress in
poultry. Working on the association of SNPs in the Hsp90β gene 5′ flanking region
with thermotolerance traits in two chicken breeds, Chen et al. (2013) inferred that
 WORLD’S POULTRY SCIENCE JOURNAL 187

quantitation of Hsp90β mRNA was different between species, and was time, gender and
tissue-dependent. The results of this study further indicated that the Hsp90β gene could
guide for further genetic improvement aimed at developing a high-meat-yielding
chicken variety possessing the required heat tolerance. Breeding and selection strategies
are considered important approaches towards fighting against unfavourable heat-
stressed environments. Establishing genetic diversities, therefore, becomes of utmost
importance for the initiation of scientific breeding programmes aimed at the produc­
tion of heat stress-resistant strain poultry. Such efforts, however, require a striking
balance between productive and adaptive traits for ensuring appropriate economic
return from the poultry enterprise in the changing environments. To take advantage
of such modern technology, there is a need to have concerted efforts for effective
collaboration between researchers and commercial entities with the right selection of
poultry breeds/varieties, which will have a wider scope of adoption across the ecological
regions.

Conclusions
Heat stress is one of the most significant environmental stressors and is challenging the
poultry industry globally. The impact of heat stress on both broilers and laying hens has
been rather wide-ranging, from reduced growth and egg production to decreased flesh
and egg quality. Nowadays, the commercial poultry industries are exposed to severe
threats because of the lower heat tolerance of new poultry genotypes and climate-
mediated heat stress. To overcome such heat stress conditions, commercial systems
have so far been able to control microclimatic conditions largely by adopting effective
management measures. In summer, for managing heat stress and producing better meat
and egg production, commercial poultry industries have been using the sprinkling
system combined with tunnel ventilation or air mixing. However, due to open-field
scavenging, backyard poultry is subjected to greater stressful conditions, leading to
production loss, thereby affecting small farmers in rural fronts. In the context of
increased heat stress conditions, aspects of poultry welfare also need to be given impor­
tance. Besides environmental management, nutritional supplementation has also been
suggested as an important mitigation measure for elevated temperature conditions. The
effectiveness of such strategies, however, was found to have variable output, depending
on breed, age, sex, management strategies and also geographical location. While multiple
approaches can have a greater outcome in tackling heat stress, the advantages derived
from these may not be cumulative. While it is evident that the impact of climate-
mediated heat stress will further deepen globally in the coming decades, the extent of
the advantage of multiple approaches needs to be clearly understood through focused
research programmes undertaken in commercial and backyard poultry under different
climatic situations.
For greater sustainability of poultry production, it has become important to develop
heat resilient poultry breeds and also basic welfare measures, especially in the tropical
climatic regions. The present knowledge of molecular biology may help in under­
standing the different cellular and molecular mechanisms associated with the growth
and production process of poultry and associated physiological and immunological
aspects.
188 J. BISWAL ET AL.

Genetic selection although can be considered an effective strategy to improve thermo­

tolerance in poultry, it is essential to have strong knowledge of classic quantitative
genetics or ‘omics’ technologies. Further, such strategies being capital intensive, colla­
borative programmes involving geneticists and commercial poultry can be more effec­
tive. Because the subject of climate change is quite vast and wide-open, it is also necessary
to have an in-depth understanding of the mechanisms associated with heat stress and
evolve new and effective mitigation measures, which would require extensive R&D in the
subject over the years to come.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors
Vijayalakshmy Kennadycompleted her masters in veterinary sciences in the field of animal
physiology. She has a good expertise in the field of reproductive animal biotechnology including
in-vitro fertilization, animal cloning, stemcells research, sperm transcriptomics, artificial insemi­
nation, etc. Before joining at ILRI, she was working as an Assitant Professor, Animal Physiology at
Veterinary Research Institute, Puducherry. She received three best research thesis awards for her
research work during her master's programme. Her main contribution in ILRI is the development
of different sustainable projects that mainly concentrate on enhancing the livelihoods of small
scale and marginal livestock farmers in South Asia. Apart from that, she also works for different
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) - ILRI collaborative research projects in the area
of Backyard Poultry Genomics, Animal Disease Economics and Methane Emission and its
mitigation. She is also overseeing the communications of ILRI-South Asia.
Habibar Rahman has been working as Deputy Director General (Animal Science Division), at
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) New Delhi. He has a B.V.Sc. & AH from Assam
Agricultural University, M.V.Sc. from Punjab Agricultural University and PhD in Microbiology
and Public Health from GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology. He pursued his Post-
Doctoral training at the Robert Koch Institute, Germany and University of Utah, Salt Lake City,
USA. Dr. Rahman’s career includes senior roles in the ICAR-National Institute of Veterinary
Epidemiology & Disease Informatics (NIVEDI), the ICAR Research Complex of NEH Region,
Gangtok and Shillong and he was Head of the Division, Veterinary Public Health, Indian
Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly. Dr. H Rahman brings with him an impressive and well-
rounded over 30 years of global research experience covering many aspects of veterinary science,
especially the role of animal health for improved productivity. He has a substantial publication
record, has supervised many students and received a number of national awards.

ORCID
Jyotsnarani Biswal http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1239-6976
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