Implications of High-Density Nutrient Intake on Thermoregulation in Heat-Stressed Birds: Insights into Public Health, Zoonotic and Food Safety Concerns in a Changing Climate

Poor dietary patterns are major risk factors for chronic diseases and pose a challenge to public health. Improving diets is complex, but of interest is aligning nutrient density with energy balance to boost productivity in stressed birds. Global market demand for high quality chicken meat has increased tremendously, necessitating a balance between high density (HD) nutrients` inclusion and uptake in broiler chickens (BC). Heat stress reduces uptake and utilization of nutrients such as crude protein (CP) and metabolizable energy (ME) in broilers, disrupting homeostasis in fast-growing strains. However, information on the relationship among HD nutrients at optimum dietary electrolyte balance (DEB) and body temperature, and their effects on performance of heat-stressed BC is scanty and thus investigated. Arbor Acre BC (n = 288) were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments (T1- 23% CP; T2- 21% CP; T3- 19% CP; and T4- 17% CP) that were formulated in a 2% sequential reduction from the standard requirements, with six replicates in a completely randomized design. Data were analyzed using descriptive, ANOVA at α _0.05 , and correlation statistics. Intake and efficiency of nutrients differed significantly with respect to dietary CP levels at optimum DEB. However, when these nutrients are balanced in diets based on standard recommendations, their intake and utilization differ significantly in heat-stressed broilers fed CP-adjusted diets. High fat intake impedes smooth efficiency of ingested protein and fibre under severe heat stress conditions, and it’s possibly the leading cause of different biochemically engineered diseases in broilers that are related to protein and fibre deficiencies.