Prediction of body weight from body measurements in grass cutters

In order to predict the body weight of grass cutters from linear body measurements, the weights and measurements of 50 intensively managed female grass cutters aged 5 months were fitted into linear, quadratic and cubic regression models. Highly significant (p < 0.01) R (2) values ranging from 74 to 98% were obtained indicating that all body measurements were good predictors of body weight. Although quadratic and cubic models gave slightly higher R (2) values than linear models, it is recommended that farmers should use a simple linear equation based on tail length or heart girth to predict the body weight of their grass cutters. The recommended equations are (weight in kg) = 0.47 + 0.08 (tail length in cm) and (weight in kg) = 0.32 + 0.07 (heart girth in cm).