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Animals
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Advances in Small Ruminant Welfare
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Advances in Small Ruminant Welfare

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Small Ruminants".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 958

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Govind Kannan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Poultry Science, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
Interests: animal welfare; stress physiology; meat quality and safety; small ruminants; poultry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Small ruminants are raised for various purposes, including meat, milk, fiber, and by-products, and depending on the purpose, the production system could be extensive, intensive, or semi-intensive. Wide variations also exist within a system depending on the size of the operation, geographical region, cultural practice, economic status, and marketing system, to name a few. Increased public attention to animal welfare issues and consumer demand for products from humanely treated animals requires the scientific community to keep refining animal welfare assessment methods through research. These findings are expected to bring about the desired changes in production methods, when necessary, further improving animal welfare and farm sustainability. It is well established that production practices emphasizing high animal welfare standards enhance livestock health, productivity, and product quality. In addition to the conventional methods of assessing animal well-being using behavioral observations and physiological stress responses, researchers have explored various other means in recent years, such as thermal imaging, facial cues, product quality, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and multi-omics technology, to name a few.

For this Special Issue, we invite original research articles or review articles addressing small ruminant welfare, particularly those exploring novel methods of assessing and improving well-being. Papers on any small ruminant species raised for any purpose are invited. Studies relating animal welfare to health, productivity, product quality, economics, and sustainability will also be within the scope of this Special Issue.  

Prof. Dr. Govind Kannan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • animal behavior
  • animal welfare
  • fiber
  • goats
  • meat
  • milk
  • sheep
  • small ruminants
  • stress physiology
  • sustainability

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 3334 KiB  
Article
Transcriptomic Analysis of Skin Tissue Reveals Molecular Mechanisms of Thermal Adaptation in Cold-Exposed Lambs
by Mengyu Feng, Kaixi Ji, Yutao Li, Pâmela Almeida Alexandre, Dan Jiao, Yanping Liang, Xia Du, Xindong Cheng, Huitong Zhou, Jon G. H. Hickford and Guo Yang
Animals 2025, 15(10), 1405; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15101405 - 13 May 2025
Viewed by 286
Abstract
Cold stress impacts lamb mortality, welfare, and productivity. Wool and skin insulate lambs, but the mechanisms underlying their response to colder environments remain unclear. Shorn lambs (n = 20) of similar age (8 months), of the Hulunbuir (n = 10; average [...] Read more.
Cold stress impacts lamb mortality, welfare, and productivity. Wool and skin insulate lambs, but the mechanisms underlying their response to colder environments remain unclear. Shorn lambs (n = 20) of similar age (8 months), of the Hulunbuir (n = 10; average 34.5 ± 0.70 kg) and Hu (n = 10; average 34.9 ± 0.79 kg) breeds, were raised at the Ecological and Agricultural Experimental Station, Gaolan, Gansu Province, People’s Republic of China (36°13″ N, 103°47″ E), at an altitude of 1780 m above sea level. These lambs were divided into four equal groups: Hulunbuir at −20 °C (HB−20), Hulunbuir at 15 °C (HB+15), Hu at −20 °C (HU−20), and Hu at 15 °C (HU+15). The groups were maintained at these temperatures in temperature-controlled facilities for 38 days. Skin tissues were analyzed with transcriptome sequencing, and selected wool and physiological traits were assessed. The HB−20 lambs had greater wool length growth (1.8 ± 0.13 vs. 1.0 ± 0.46 cm, p < 0.001) and epidermis thickness (20.0 ± 1.20 vs. 14.6 ± 0.87 μm, p = 0.006) but lower hair follicle density (33.6 ± 2.11 vs. 42.7 ± 3.06 per mm2, p = 0.041), rectal temperature (38.1 ± 0.10 vs. 38.8 ± 0.04 °C, p < 0.001), and respiratory rate (15.5 ± 1.08 vs. 24.0 ± 1.89 breaths/min, p = 0.004), compared to the HB+15 lambs. Similar differences in these traits were observed with the Hu lambs at the two temperatures. Transcriptome analyses revealed the activation of pathways related to immune and endocrine systems, signal transduction, and development and regeneration, irrespective of breed at −20 °C. The TNF signaling pathway and osteoclast differentiation may play roles in cold adaptation, as they are associated with differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identified in the Hulunbuir lambs, as well as shared DEGs between both breeds. This study revealed physiological and molecular differences in lambs exposed to lower temperatures and suggests potential targets for improving cold tolerance, welfare, and productivity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Small Ruminant Welfare)
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23 pages, 7105 KiB  
Article
Attenuation of Stress Responses to Human Handling Through Habituation in Goats
by Tharun Tej Erukulla, Phaneendra Batchu, Priyanka Gurrapu, Arshad Shaik, Thomas H. Terrill and Govind Kannan
Animals 2025, 15(10), 1385; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15101385 - 10 May 2025
Viewed by 342
Abstract
Goats raised on pastures are seldom handled except for purposes such as weighing and providing veterinary care. Regular positive interactions with human caretakers have been reported to attenuate fear and stress responses to routine human handling; however, this has not been adequately studied [...] Read more.
Goats raised on pastures are seldom handled except for purposes such as weighing and providing veterinary care. Regular positive interactions with human caretakers have been reported to attenuate fear and stress responses to routine human handling; however, this has not been adequately studied in meat goats. This experiment was conducted to determine the effects of habituation to handling on behavioral, physiological, and metabolomic responses in goats when subjected to routine handling. Seventy-two male (uncastrated) Spanish goats (6 mo; BW = 25.2 ± 0.37 kg) were randomly allocated to one of two treatment (Trt) groups: (i) regularly handled by stroking the back of each goat before feeding time for 90 days (handled: H) or (ii) not subjected to handling during the same period, but all other conditions were the same (non-handled: NH). After the 90-day habituation period, the goats were subjected to an arena test in the presence of an observer. Immediately after the test, the goats were subjected to routine veterinary exams that involved blood sampling (0 min) and measuring heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), rectal temperature (RT), and body weight (BW). Blood samples were also collected after the veterinary exam (20 min) to determine physiological and metabolomic responses. Data from the arena test were analyzed using a Mann–Whitney U Test, and blood physiological responses were analyzed using MIXED procedures in SAS with sampling time (Time) as a repeated measure. Unpaired t-tests showed that the increase in BW was higher in the H goats (p < 0.01) compared to the NH goats over the 90 d habituation period. The approach distance from the observer (p < 0.05) and frequency of urination (p < 0.05) were greater in the NH goats during the arena test. HR (p < 0.01) and RR (p < 0.01) were higher in the NH group compared to the H group. Plasma cortisol concentrations were higher at 20 min than at 0 min (p < 0.05), while epinephrine (p < 0.05), metanephrine, normetanephrine, phenylethylamine, and 5-methoxytryptamine concentrations were higher (p < 0.05) in the NH goats than in the H goats. A targeted metabolomics analysis showed that six of the eight affected amino acids were lower (p < 0.05), and six of the seven affected phosphatidylcholines were higher (p < 0.05) in the NH goats compared to the H goats. The results show that habituation reduces fear and stress responses to routine handling, in addition to increasing BW, which can improve the welfare of meat goats. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Small Ruminant Welfare)
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