Heat stress is a major welfare challenge in poultry production with increasing urgency under climate change.
Heat stress in poultry causes significant welfare harm through hyperthermia, respiratory distress, and death. Unlike cattle, poultry cannot easily seek shade and depend on housing ventilation for thermoregulation. Well-designed tunnel ventilation, evaporative cooling, and access to cool water are effective and important welfare interventions in hot climates and during heat events.