Predicting live weight using body volume formula in lactating water buffalo.

Area of Science:

• Animal Science
• Agricultural Engineering
• Biometry

Background:

• Live weight (LW) is vital for livestock production economics.
• Periodic weighing of buffalo is not standard practice in major producing regions.
• Accurate LW estimation is needed for efficient management of lactating Murrah buffalo.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate mathematical models for predicting live weight (LW) in lactating water buffalo.
• To utilize body volume (BV) as a predictor variable for LW estimation.
• To compare the performance of linear, quadratic, and allometric models.

Main Methods:

• Measured LW and BV in 165 lactating Murrah buffalo (3-10 years old).
• Developed and fitted linear, quadratic, and allometric models to predict LW from BV.
• Evaluated model goodness-of-fit using AIC, BIC, R², MSE, and RMSE.
• Performed cross-validation (k-folds) and assessed prediction accuracy (RMSEP, R², MAE).

Main Results:

• A strong positive correlation (r=0.81) was found between LW and BV.
• The quadratic model showed the lowest MSE (2788.12) and RMSE (52.80).
• The allometric model yielded the lowest AIC (1313.07) and BIC (1319.24).
• Both quadratic and allometric models demonstrated superior prediction accuracy (lower MSEP and MAE).

Conclusions:

• Quadratic and allometric models are recommended for predicting LW in lactating Murrah buffalo using BV.
• These models offer a practical, non-invasive method for LW estimation in buffalo production systems.
• Accurate LW prediction can enhance management decisions and economic efficiency in buffalo farming.