How to Calculate Sheep or Goat Weight
Unless you are a commercial sheep farmer, you probably do not own a livestock scale to weigh your sheep, goats, lambs or kids. Figuring out how to weigh a sheep or a goat is easy if you can measure the animal’s body length and girth. Use this guide to determine the weight of your livestock sheep or goat:
- Measure the circumference of the animal, as shown in distance C in the illustration. Make sure to measure girth in relation to the location of the animal’s heart. On a sheep, ensure an accurate measurement by compressing the sheep’s wool so that the circumference reflects that of the body and does not include that of the body plus the wool.
- Measure the length of the animal’s body, as shown in distance A-B in the illustration.
- Using the measurements from steps 1 and 2, calculate body weight using the formula HEART GIRTH x HEART GIRTH x BODY LENGTH / 300 = ANIMAL WEIGHT IN POUNDS. For example, if a sheep has a heart girth equal to 35 inches and a body length equal to 30 inches, the calculation would be (35 x 35 x 30) / 300 = 122 lbs