PREDICTION OF BAGGARA BULLS LIVE WEIGHT USING LINEAR BODY MEASUREMENTS

Abstract

This work was conducted in attempt to study the relationship between live weight and body measurements to predict live weight of Sudanese beef cattle, linear body measurement were taken from 90 western Baggara bulls ranged from <200 kg to 400 kg live weight. The animals were grouped into 3 sub groups according to live weight range (A>200 .(B) 205 — 300 (C ) 305 — 400 kg For the over all bulls the study reveled that heart girth and heart around the hump had the highest coefficient of determination with live .weight (R2 = 0.89 and 0.93), P <0.001 respectively The heart girth group B & C revealed the lowest coefficient of determination with live weight R2 0.64 and 0.82 P< 0.001 respectively this gave more confidence in the use of the former measurement in prediction of live weight of humped cattle, the calculation of the regression of weight on heart girth around the hump indicated that a straight line relationship existed the regression equation for estimation :live weight of cattle were as follows Y = -516.65 + 5.30x ,Where (Y live weight (kg ( X heart girth(cm The study revealed that the higest coefficient of determination stand for the heaviest group where increase live weight showed highest correlation coefficient with body measurement while animals with light weights (lower than 200 kg,)had no significant P< 0.001 low . correlation coefficient compared by animal oldest weights