Climate change and the chicken industry: Impacts, adaptation and mitigation strategies, and contributions to the carbon footprint - an overview
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Chickens are the most popular emerging agricultural subsector worldwide and provide humans with animal protein in terms of egg and meat production. Chicken production is facing serious problems associated with changes in the global climate. An understanding of how to mitigate climate change is essential to the successful production of chickens. This comprehensive overview addresses the effects of climate change on the chicken industry, summarizes the adaptation and mitigation strategies used to cope with climate change, describes the role that the chicken industry plays in global climate change, and summarizes future research directions for a sustainable chicken industry in a changing climate. The most significant effects of climate change on chicken production and welfare, such as on the growth performance, quantity and quality of eggs and meat, disease, mortality, immunity, physiological and behavioral changes, water scarcity, and food availability, are fully summarized. The main adaptation measures for coping with climate change in chickens include feed and feeding manipulation, genetic strategies, management practices, thermal manipulation, and farmers’ perceptions and adaptive capacity. The most important mitigation strategies for reducing the carbon footprint resulting from the chicken industry, such as manure management, production and energy efficiency, carbon sequestration, litter management, genetic selection, and climate-smart agriculture, are fully discussed. Furthermore, the contribution of chickens to the carbon footprint is thoroughly discussed. In conclusion, there is a significant need for new methods, technologies and innovations based on genetic markers that are responsible for the environmental sustainability of chicken production under climate change.
Author: Amani Al-Dawood
Institution: Tafila Technical University
Language: English
Subfield: Animal Science and Zoology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7164137189