Respiratory disease in commercial poultry is driven by environmental factors including dust, ammonia, and poor ventilation; welfare-focused management significantly reduces disease burden.
Poultry respiratory welfare is shaped primarily by housing management decisions. Ammonia levels in commercial broiler houses frequently exceed welfare-acceptable thresholds during cold weather when ventilation is reduced to conserve heat. Litter management — turning, adding fresh material, maintaining appropriate moisture — is the primary control lever for ammonia. Broiler houses with continuous high-level exhaust ventilation and appropriate incoming air distribution maintain air quality compatible with good respiratory welfare. Vaccination programs control Mycoplasma and Newcastle disease. The correlation between good ventilation, low ammonia, low dust, and good respiratory health is well-established; the barriers to implementation are primarily economic in intensive systems operating on narrow margins.