Impact of Weighing Frequency on the Determination of Daily Weights of Cattle

Monitoring daily weights of cattle has various advantages, such as early detection of the health and nutritional status of the animal and the determination of farm productivity. However, it is not always possible to regularly collect animal weights. This study was conducted to assess the impact of weighing frequency on the determination of daily weights and to determine the minimum weighing interval required to accurately estimate daily weights of cattle. A simulated data containing animal identification number, birth date, sex, breed, animal age, date of weight record and animal weight for each day of simulation was used to generate data sets representing weights collected at various intervals (weekly, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks, 20 weeks, 30 weeks, 40 weeks, and 50 weeks). Each data sets representing various weighing intervals are compared with daily weight records of animals using Lin's Concordance Coefficient (CCC), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), and the t-test. The findings indicated that an increase in the weighing interval increased the deviation of the weight measurements from the daily weight measurements, reaching a significant difference (p 0.02) at the 8-week interval. Additionally, weight measurements at an interval of 8 weeks or less can be used to estimate daily weight of cattle with an error of less than 5% or 14 kg. The findings of the present study could help support decision making regarding the appropriate frequency needed to measure cattle weights without a significant difference from daily weigh measurements.