The Morphometric Scale to Predict the Live Weight of Malpura Sheep in Semi-arid Region of Rajasthan

Abstract

Background: The Malpura sheep is hardy breed of semi-arid region of Rajasthan. Farmers do not get the due share for their heavy weight lambs as animals are never sold on weight basis. Researchers have worked out the ways of predicting the live weight of sheep/goats using body measurements. However, very few studies have tried to address this issue, especially in India. Aim of this study was to construct a prediction scale for live weight of sheep using simple measure of heart girth and body length, such scale will further benefit the shepherds to guess the live weight of the lambs sold and expect the desired price from the customer. Methods: The present study was conducted on 1164 records of 823 Malpura sheep at CSWRI, Avikanagar. The data on live weight (N=1164) and corresponding morphometric measures on heart girth and body length were digitalized and subjected to analysis. we used 14 linear predictors and regressed them on the live weight to obtain the estimates of regression, coefficient of determination and derived the prediction equations using the regression coefficients for prediction of live weights. Result: Our study revealed that it is possible to create a measurement scale for prediction of live weight of the sheep using simple arithmetic. Several linear regression scales using body length and heart girth were developed. The best scale (L+G) had a prediction equation as: Y = -49.743+0.576L+0.562G, where Y is live weight. The R2 was 0.883, which was not significantly more than linear regression scale (L+G). This will help the farmers to quite confidently score animals for their live weights across all the age groups. With the help of measurement tape, he can easily measure the heart girth and the body length of the sheep.