Using Morphometric Traits to Estimate Live Body Weight of South African Bapedi Sheep

This study was carried out for the estimation of Body Weight (BW) of bapedi sheep from Body Length (BL), Sterna Height (SH), Heart Girth (HG), Height at Withers (WH), Rump Height (RH) and Head Length (HL). Correlation and regression were used. Correlation displayed that body weight is highly positively associated (p<0.01) with WH and HG in males while for females, correlation is highly positively associated (p<0.01) with WH, HG, and HL. Regression analysis revealed that the equation with HG was the best-fitted regression model (R² = 0.64, RMSE = 5.06, AIC = 77.69, BIC = 78.86) for estimating Body Weight in the Bapedi sheep males while an equation including HG, WH, R, SH and HL, was the most suitable regression model (R² = 0.79, RMSE = 3.72, AIC = 274.49, BIC = 287.66) for female Bapedi sheep body weight estimation. These findings suggest that HG may be chosen during selection and production for the improvement of body weight in males while HG, WH, RH, SH, and HL may be selected for the improvement of body weight in females. Therefore, outcomes may assist sheep farmers during the breeding stock selection and precisions during daily animal welfare routines such as feeding, veterinary services, and marketing