Goat tape measure

Estimating the weight of your goat

Apr. 17 | 2018

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It’s important to know the weight of your goat when calculating proper medication doses or if you are selling your goat. In Mali, many farmers do not have a scale to weigh their goats, lambs or kids, so they need another way to calculate this number. If you don’t have a scale available to weigh your goat, there is another simple way you can find out this important measurement.

You can easily estimate the weight of your goat using a tape measure and the conversion chart below. It is best to use a cloth or sewing tape measure, as it is most flexible and will give you the most accurate result. There are just two steps to this process. First, wrap the tape measure around the goat’s chest (heart girth). Then, find the measurement on the chart below to convert it into kilograms. This will give you a fairly accurate measurement of how much your goat weighs.

Measuring a goat for weight
To measure, wrap the tape around the goat in the area shown — this is the goat’s heart girth.
Estimating body weight of goats
Use this table to convert your measurement into weight