Prediction of body weight of Curraleiro Pé-Duro cattle based on morphometric measurements.

Cattle weight development is highly correlated with some body measurements. Based on the relationship between morphometric measurements and body mass, our aim was to develop regression equations to estimate the body weight of Curraleiro Pé-Duro (CPD) cattle to be used in farms that lack access to weighting scales. Data from 1023 animals from four farms on withers height (WH), body length (BL), body score (BS), heart girth (HG), permanent teeth (PT), scrotal perimeter (SP), and live weight were used.

Genetic parameters for carcass traits and body size in sheep for meat production.

The aim was to estimate the covariance components and genetic parameters of carcass traits and body size of meat sheep by employing animal models for single and multi-trait analyses. Data were collected from herds of adult Santa Ines sheep. The ribeye area, subcutaneous fat thickness, and rump fat thickness, evaluated in vivo by ultrasound images of the carcass; and morphometric traits: fat depth, rump height, chest circumference, chest depth, body length, and rump length were measured.