Use of body linear measurements to estimate liveweight of crossbred dairy cattle in smallholder farms in Kenya
Body linear measurements, and specifically heart girth (HG), have been shown to be useful predictors of cattle liveweight. To test the accuracy of body linear measurements for predicting liveweight, crossbred dairy cattle of different genotypes were measured and weighed. A total of 352 mature cows a...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Springer
2016
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/78444 |
| _version_ | 1855535074396602368 |
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| author | Lukuyu, Margaret N. Gibson, John P. Savage, D.B. Duncan, Alan J. Mujibi, F.D.N. Okeyo Mwai, Ally |
| author_browse | Duncan, Alan J. Gibson, John P. Lukuyu, Margaret N. Mujibi, F.D.N. Okeyo Mwai, Ally Savage, D.B. |
| author_facet | Lukuyu, Margaret N. Gibson, John P. Savage, D.B. Duncan, Alan J. Mujibi, F.D.N. Okeyo Mwai, Ally |
| author_sort | Lukuyu, Margaret N. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Body linear measurements, and specifically heart girth (HG), have been shown to be useful predictors of cattle liveweight. To test the accuracy of body linear measurements for predicting liveweight, crossbred dairy cattle of different genotypes were measured and weighed. A total of 352 mature cows and 100 heifers were weighed using an electronic weighing scale and measurements of HG, body length, height at withers were taken using an ordinary measuring tape and body condition scored (BCS) using a five-point scale. The animals were grouped according to genotype and age. Genotype classification was undertaken from farmer recall and by visual appraisal as 40–60, 61–80 or 81–100 % exotic (non-indigenous). Age classification was simply as mature cows or heifers. Liveweight of the animals ranged from 102 to 433 kg. Liveweight was strongly correlated with HG (r = 0.84) and body condition scores (r = 0.70) and moderately correlated with body length (r = 0.64) and height at withers (0.61). Regressing LW on HG measurements gave statistically significant (P < 0.01) equations with R2 ranging from of 0.53 to 0.78 and residual standard deviation ranging from 18.11 to 40.50 kg. The overall model developed (adjusted R2 = 0.71) had a prediction error of 26 kg (or 11 % of the mean) and predicted LW of over 95 % of crossbred dairy cattle in the range of 100–450 kg, regardless of age and breed group. Including BCS in the model slightly improved the model fit but not the prediction error. It was concluded that the model can be useful in making general management decisions in smallholder farms |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace78444 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateRange | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | Springer |
| publisherStr | Springer |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace784442024-05-01T08:18:53Z Use of body linear measurements to estimate liveweight of crossbred dairy cattle in smallholder farms in Kenya Lukuyu, Margaret N. Gibson, John P. Savage, D.B. Duncan, Alan J. Mujibi, F.D.N. Okeyo Mwai, Ally livestock genetics animal breeding Body linear measurements, and specifically heart girth (HG), have been shown to be useful predictors of cattle liveweight. To test the accuracy of body linear measurements for predicting liveweight, crossbred dairy cattle of different genotypes were measured and weighed. A total of 352 mature cows and 100 heifers were weighed using an electronic weighing scale and measurements of HG, body length, height at withers were taken using an ordinary measuring tape and body condition scored (BCS) using a five-point scale. The animals were grouped according to genotype and age. Genotype classification was undertaken from farmer recall and by visual appraisal as 40–60, 61–80 or 81–100 % exotic (non-indigenous). Age classification was simply as mature cows or heifers. Liveweight of the animals ranged from 102 to 433 kg. Liveweight was strongly correlated with HG (r = 0.84) and body condition scores (r = 0.70) and moderately correlated with body length (r = 0.64) and height at withers (0.61). Regressing LW on HG measurements gave statistically significant (P < 0.01) equations with R2 ranging from of 0.53 to 0.78 and residual standard deviation ranging from 18.11 to 40.50 kg. The overall model developed (adjusted R2 = 0.71) had a prediction error of 26 kg (or 11 % of the mean) and predicted LW of over 95 % of crossbred dairy cattle in the range of 100–450 kg, regardless of age and breed group. Including BCS in the model slightly improved the model fit but not the prediction error. It was concluded that the model can be useful in making general management decisions in smallholder farms 2016-12 2016-12-21T13:08:13Z 2016-12-21T13:08:13Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/78444 en Open Access Springer Lukuyu, M.N., Gibson, J.P., Savage, D.B., Duncan, A.J., Mujibi, F.D.N. and Okeyo, A.M., 2016. Use of body linear measurements to estimate liveweight of crossbred dairy cattle in smallholder farms in Kenya. SpringerPlus 5:63. |
| spellingShingle | livestock genetics animal breeding Lukuyu, Margaret N. Gibson, John P. Savage, D.B. Duncan, Alan J. Mujibi, F.D.N. Okeyo Mwai, Ally Use of body linear measurements to estimate liveweight of crossbred dairy cattle in smallholder farms in Kenya |
| title | Use of body linear measurements to estimate liveweight of crossbred dairy cattle in smallholder farms in Kenya |
| title_full | Use of body linear measurements to estimate liveweight of crossbred dairy cattle in smallholder farms in Kenya |
| title_fullStr | Use of body linear measurements to estimate liveweight of crossbred dairy cattle in smallholder farms in Kenya |
| title_full_unstemmed | Use of body linear measurements to estimate liveweight of crossbred dairy cattle in smallholder farms in Kenya |
| title_short | Use of body linear measurements to estimate liveweight of crossbred dairy cattle in smallholder farms in Kenya |
| title_sort | use of body linear measurements to estimate liveweight of crossbred dairy cattle in smallholder farms in kenya |
| topic | livestock genetics animal breeding |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/78444 |
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