Estimating body weight from morphometric measurements of Sahel (Borno white) goats

Fifteen male Sahel goat kids (five each from single, twin and triplet births) were weighed and measurements of height at withers, heart girth and body length were taken every week for the first six months of life, The average weights at birth were 2.7 +/- 0.5 kg, 2.3 +/- 0.2 kg and 1.6 +/- 0.4 kg for singles, twins and triplets respectively, while the average weights at six months were 13.7 +/- 0.5 kg, 13.3 +/- 3.4 kg and 12.9 +/- 2.8 kg. There was a good correlation (r(2) = 0.98) between body weight and heart girth in all three categories, An equation for predicting body weight from measurements of heart girth is given for each category. For adult Sahel goats, the average yearling weight was 24.7 +/- 5.3 kg for males, 21.6 +/- 5.1 kg for non pregnant females and 27.7 +/- 6.4 kg for those with pregnancy over four months. The correlation between heart girth and body weight in adults was lower than for growing goats (bucks r(2) = 0.96, non pregnant females r(2) = 0.83 and for females in advanced pregnancy r(2) = 0.71). It was concluded that the body weight of Sahel goats can be estimated in the field using morphometric measurements taken with a tape.