Relationship between body fat depots and body mass index in Pelibuey ewes

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between body mass index (BMI), body condition score (BCS), and body energy reserves in Pelibuey ewes. Twenty-four hours before slaughter, withers height (WH) and body length (BL) were measured on 28 ewes. Their BMIs were calculated as follows: BMI=(body weight (kg)/withers height (m)/body length (m))/10. The BMI and BCS showed a correlation coefficient of 0.80 (P<0.05). The regression equation for BMI and BCS had a determination coefficient of 0.64 (RSD: 0.75). The correlation between BMI and the muscle (MUS), internal fat (IF), carcass fat and total body fat (TBF) weights ranged from 0.73 to 0.81 (P<0.05), while the regression equations had an R2 that ranged from 0.54 for IF (RSD: 1.98kg) to 0.60 for carcass fat (CF, RSD: 1.81kg). BMI and body energy reserves showed a positive relationship with each other; therefore, BMI could be used as a predictor of body energy reserves in non-pregnant and non-lactating Pelibuey ewes.