Some body measurements as a management tool for Shami goats raised in subtropical areas in Egypt

Abstract

Live body weight of the male was accurately and significantly (P < 0.01) predicted by the measurements of HG and NC with R2 = 0.98. While BL and paunch girth (PG) were significantly (P < 0.01) used to predict LBW of the female with R2 = 0.92. Stepwise regression analysis determined that BL and HG were the major significant contributors to the LBW prediction equation of total (male and female). Body length was the first independent variable to enter the model followed by HG, NC, and PG entered the best-fitted regression models. Thus, they were the variables entered to obtain the optimal regression models. The high correlation values between predicted and actual live body weight measurements give credence to the validity of using these models for predicting live weights of Shami goats.