Commercial turkeys are vulnerable to heat stress due to their large size and limited capacity to regulate body temperature. Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of heat stress events.
Turkey heat stress creates acute welfare suffering that can rapidly become fatal in severe heat events. The combination of large body mass, dense feathering, and high metabolic rate from rapid growth creates physiological vulnerability to heat that conventional turkey housing often fails to adequately manage. Climate change is making adequate thermal management an increasingly critical welfare challenge. Proactive investment in emergency ventilation capacity, cool water availability, and lower stocking densities provides the welfare buffer needed to protect turkeys during increasingly frequent extreme heat events.