Using the measurements from steps 1 and 2 calculate body weight using the formula heart girth x heart girth x body length 300 animal weight in pounds. The article tells how to find out the weight of cattle by measuring the tables of measurement with live weight. A typical dairy cow weighs between 1400 2000 lb 635 907 kg and has a lifespan of. Measurements of heart girth and hip width have the highest correlation with body weight enevoldsen and kristensen 1997 but body parts such as heart girth wither height and body length could. Kristensenestimation of body weight from body size measurements and body condition scores in dairy cows j. Do this by restraining the animal and measuring the length of body from between the ears poll over the backbone to the base of the tail.
Body parts of a bullcow have names fig. These manual measurements were compared to those measured with a scanner morpho3d that provided 3d images of the entire cow body. 3 measurement methods and standard measurements when a cowbull is measured for body parts the animal needs to be standing with the correct posture. Mulching animals are not always very welcoming for taking their measurements so make sure that animal allows you handle them safely. Correlations between manual and morpho3d measurements were high. For example if a beef cow has a heart girth equal to 70 inches and a body length equal to 78 inches the calculation would be 70 x 70 x 78 300 1274 lb.
While taking body measurements animal need to stand straight and still. And then the animals are calculated on the basis of special weight tables and formulas. Dairy sci 80 1997 pp. Measure the length of body from a to b. Precautions to be taken while taking cow measurements. But you can determine the weight without weights.
1 but normally for the assessment of a dairy cow the body part names shown in fig. Adult cows or bulls are heavy to weigh. Measurement is carried out with a conventional or special measuring tape. Keep proper distance while taking body measurements of animals. The average dairy cow has an overall height of 620 690 16 18 m withers height of 540 600 137 15 m and body length of 920 1030 23 26 m. Dairy cows are a type of cattle cow bred specifically for the production of greater quantities of milk used to make a range of common dairy products.
After these measurements are made in inches use the following formula. Body measurements of 110 beef cows of 9 breeds hungarian simmental hereford aberdeen angus red angus lincoln red shaver charolais limousin and blonde daquitaine were taken in december. Measure the circumference heart girth of body c. 089 for cd 082 for hw 078 for hg 076 for baw 063 for iw and 062 for wh.
Gallery of Cow Body Measurements
