Impacts of Climate Change to Poultry Production in Africa: Adaptation Options for Broiler Chickens
- 22 September 2020
- book chapter
- reference work
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Abstract
Global climate change poses a great threat to poultry production. Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are released through both natural and anthropogenic sources into the atmosphere. Though poultry production contributes little to the release of GHGs, the subsector has been shown to be greatly affected by climate change and global warming. Poultry production as a major subsector of agriculture has provided the teeming population with a supply of needed animal protein in terms of meat and egg production all over the world. It is yet a major global employer of labor. Though it occupies a vantage position in meeting human needs, it is being threatened by climate change, especially in Africa where necessary structure to tackle the menace is nonexistent. Broiler chickens that are reared mainly for chicken meat cannot tolerate the high ambient temperature that prevails mostly in the tropical environment. Chickens are homeotherms that homeostatically regulate core body temperature within a narrow range. Elevated ambient temperature above thermal comfort zone, such as envisaged in climate change scenarios, will trigger series of neuroendocrine modulations that are detrimental to the welfare and productivity in broiler chickens. Such birds are said to be undergoing heat stress (HS). Negative effects of HS include reduced feed consumption, growth rate, feed digestion and efficiency, immunity, welfare, and survivability. Various adaptive measures that could be harnessed by broiler farmers, ranging from housing, feeding, watering, stocking, breeding for thermo-tolerant strains, thermal conditioning, use of phytochemicals, and much more, are reviewed upon in this chapter.Keywords
This publication has 49 references indexed in Scilit:
- Climate Change: Depression in Egg Production in Chickens During the Hot Season with Long-Term Honey AdministrationPublished by Springer Science and Business Media LLC ,2018
- Smallholder farmers’ coping and adaptation strategies to climate change and variability in the central highlands of EthiopiaLocal Environment, 2017
- Growth, Mineral Deposition, and Physiological Responses of Broiler Chickens Offered Honey in Drinking Water during Hot-Dry SeasonInternational Journal of Zoology, 2012
- Evaluation of cold water and vitamin C on broiler growth during hot-dry season in sw NigeriaArchivos de Zootecnia, 2011
- Effects of Heat Stress on the Well-Being, Fertility, and Hatchability of Chickens in the Northern Guinea Savannah Zone of Nigeria: A ReviewISRN Veterinary Science, 2011
- Effect of ascorbic acid or increasing metabolizable energy level with or without supplementation of some essential amino acids on productive and physiological traits of slow‐growing chicks exposed to chronic heat stressJournal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, 2010
- Performance of Finisher Broilers Fed Wet Mash with or Without Drinking Water During Wet Season in the TropicsInternational Journal of Poultry Science, 2009
- Ambient temperature and the egg laying characteristics of laying fowlWorld's Poultry Science Journal, 2002
- Effects of heat stress on growth, some blood variables and lipid oxidation in broilers exposed to high temperature at an early ageBritish Poultry Science, 2000
- Neonatally-induced thermotolerance: Physiological responsesComparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology, 1990