Age matters: Differential effects of the exposure to elevated environmental temperatures on representative variables of the immune system in juvenile and adult female Japanese quail.

Several days under the influence of high environmental temperature negatively impact on some immune-related variables of poultry species. However, it is little known whether this exposure affects differentially the immune response on different life stages. This study was aimed at characterizing the immune responses of juvenile and adult female Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix) when exposed to a cyclic chronic heat stressor.