To cite this paper: Mouss AK, Hammouche D, and Meziane R (2025). Broiler Farming in the Face of Accelerating Climate Change: Risks for Production and Food Security. J. World Poult. Res., 15(1): 65-73. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.36380/jwpr.2025.6 65 JWPR Journal of World’ s Poultry Research 2025, Scienceline Publication J. World Poult. Res. 15(1): 65-73, 2025 Research Paper DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.36380/jwpr.2025.6 PII: S2322455X2500006-15 Broiler Farming in the Face of Accelerating Climate Change: Risks for Production and Food Security Abdelhak Karim Mouss 1 * , Dalila Hammouche 1 , and Rahla Meziane 2 1 Faculty of Nature and Life Sciences and Earth Sciences, Djilali Bounaama University, Road to Theniet El Had, Khemis Miliana - Ain Defla, 44225, Algeria 2 Department of Veterinary Sciences, Institute of Veterinary Sciences and Agricultural Sciences, University of Batna 1- Hadj Lakhdar, The aisles of May 19 Road to Biskra, Batna, 05000, Algeria *Corresponding author’s E-mail: a.mouss@univ-dbkm.dz Received: December 16, 2024, Revised: January 19, 2024, Accepted: February 08, 2025, Published: March 30, 2025 ABSTRACT Climate change poses significant challenges to poultry farming, particularly when broiler farms rear chickens in suboptimal housing conditions. The objective of the present study was to examine the impact of climate change, expressed through the Temperature Humidity Index (THI), on quantitative (carcass yields, pectoral muscles, thighs and drumsticks, and abdominal fat rate) and qualitative production parameters (composition of muscles in dry matter, mineral matter, crude proteins, and fat). The study was conducted in two separate poultry buildings over 45 days in northern Algeria. A total of 300 one-day-old unsexed chicks were randomly allocated into three replicates of 50 broilers each per building. The conditions of temperature and relative humidity were strictly regulated in control group but it was unregulated, exposing birds to natural climate variations in the experimental group. The impact of climate change, represented by the Temperature Humidity Index (THI), on carcass yield, pectoralis major and minor (pectoral muscles), sartorius and gastrocnemius (thigh and drumstick muscles), as well as abdominal fat content were evaluated. The results revealed that the control group was exposed to THIs of 30.88, 20.45, and 19.19, while the experimental group was subjected to THIs of 33.07, 31.48, and 30.87 for the three growth phases. The increase in THI resulted in significant proportional deteriorations in the experimental group compared to the control group, for all the parameters under study, particularly at the end of breeding. There were reductions in yields of -6.12% for eviscerated carcasses, -8.16% for thighs and drumsticks, and -9.28% for pectoral muscles. Furthermore, the abdominal fat rate increased by +21.03%. The nutritional composition of pectoral muscles showed that chickens in the experimental group had +6.17% dry matter, +13.23% fat, -13.88% mineral matter, and -8.78% crude proteins. A similar trend was observed for thigh and drumstick muscles, with +6.10% dry matter, +14.39% fat, -12.28% mineral matter, and -12.50% crude proteins. The study highlighted the impact of climate change on poultry farming, which potentially affects production and threatens food security. Keywords: Broiler chicken, Carcass, Climate change, Food security, Muscle, Nutritional quality, Yield INTRODUCTION The poultry sector, encompassing its two main branches of meat and egg production, plays a vital role in global human nutrition by providing animal-based proteins, notably meat and eggs. Poultry products, particularly meat and eggs, are widely consumed across diverse populations, especially in emerging economies where they serve as a critical dietary staple. According to data from FAOSTAT (2023), poultry meat accounts for approximately 33% of global meat production, underscoring the sector’s critical contribution to protein intake for humans. With the global population projected to reach 9.9 billion by 2050 (PRB, 2020), including an additional one billion people in Africa alone (Thornton et al., 2009), demand for poultry products is expected to rise systematically. Projections indicate a 70% increase during this period (Searchinger et al., 2019). To meet this growing demand, fast-growing chickens, developed through over 70 years of genetic advancements, have significantly improved feed efficiency and production (Zuidhof et al., 2014; Tallentire et al., 2018). However, these advances have also accelerated metabolism, increasing metabolic heat production while leaving broiler chickens with underdeveloped ISSN: 2322-455X License: CC BY 4.0