Integrated smart flock monitoring of reproductive parameters for lambing date prediction in merino sheep.

Introduction: Integrated flock monitoring systems may improve reproductive decision-making by linking maternal, male, and mating records within a single digital framework. This study evaluated whether a smart flock monitoring system integrating RFID identification, automated body-weight recording, mating-marker data, estrus observation, ram breeding soundness examination, semen evaluation, and pregnancy diagnosis could support lambing-date prediction under commercial Merino flock conditions. Methods: The study included 210 multiparous ewes and 11 mature rams; five rams underwent detailed breeding-soundness, semen-quality, and service-capacity evaluations. Sixty ewes underwent an 11-day progesterone-sponge synchronization protocol followed by PMSG administration and were allocated to two mating-management groups. Among routinely managed ewes, 51 formed the primary lambing-date analytical dataset, while 49 with complete natural-mating and lambing records were evaluated retrospectively using the fixed 148-day prediction rule. Results: Estrus duration showed marked individual variability. The interval from induced estrus to subsequent estrus was 16.33 ± 0.28 days in Group 1 and 19.95 ± 0.17 days in Group 2 ( Discussion: Integrated smart flock monitoring can generate biologically meaningful reproductive datasets and may support practical lambing-date prediction, but the regression findings require confirmation in larger independent populations.