From Sensors to Sustainability: Integrating Welfare, Management, and Climate Resilience in Small Ruminant Farm Systems
Maria Giovanna Ciliberti, Marzia Albenzio, Agostino Sevi

TL;DR
This review explores how precision technologies and climate adaptation strategies can improve small ruminant welfare and sustainability in livestock farming.
Contribution
The paper integrates welfare, management, and climate resilience through precision livestock farming technologies for small ruminants.
Findings
High temperatures negatively affect small ruminant health, reproduction, and productivity.
Precision technologies like sensors can detect early signs of stress and improve welfare monitoring.
Combining climate adaptation and digital tools supports ethical and sustainable livestock systems.
Abstract
Due to the increase in global demand for animal-derived products, it is essential to make livestock production more ethical and sustainable. This review focuses on the welfare of small ruminants in the context of climate change and heat stress. High temperatures negatively impact animals’ health, reproduction, and productivity. Precision livestock farming technologies, including sensors and automated systems, can detect in real time early signs of stress or disease and milk quality, allowing faster responses for predicting animal welfare. However, considering that animal responses to heat are complex, future models should include several environmental and physiological factors, such as wind, solar radiation, and body temperature measured with wearable or contact-free sensors. Integrating these data into automated systems could enable continuous monitoring and support timely…
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Taxonomy
TopicsEffects of Environmental Stressors on Livestock · Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies · Reproductive Physiology in Livestock
