Commercial turkey production has significant welfare challenges. Advanced housing design informed by turkey behaviour and physiology improves outcomes.
Turkey welfare presents a fundamental challenge: commercial breeds have been selected for such rapid growth that their bodies struggle to support them. Cardiovascular disease, lameness, and inability to mate naturally are inherent in commercial turkey genetics. Housing design can mitigate but not eliminate these breed-based welfare problems. The most significant intervention would be breeding reform - selecting turkeys for welfare traits alongside growth - but this is resisted due to economic pressures. Until breed reform occurs, welfare improvements through litter management, perch provision, environmental enrichment, and reduced stocking density can reduce suffering.