how to get a weight on goats and sheep

[dwbonfire]

i have been asked a time or two how much my goats or sheep weigh, and i havent a clue really. i was able to pick my sheep up so i guessed about 60 lbs (when young) but would have thought for sure that my little doe goat weighed less, but when i went to pick her up i couldnt! i know sheep look much bigger than they are because of all that wool, but i still am not seasoned enough to look at my sheep and goats and know what they weigh. with horses they have those weight tapes, do they make those for goats or sheep or does everyone just "eyeball it"?

 

[Southern by choice]

There are weight tapes for goats. We like to do actuals on ours. It is good to always have accurate weights though, for when there is an emergency or if there is a parasite problem so that you can effectively dose them. Underdosing and overdosing can be very harmful to an animal. Eyeballing it rarely works out. Saving for a small livestock scale now..$300. at 19 animals to weigh...it'll be worth it. Right now we use a regular scale and my DH gets his weight and then picks up the animal then subtracts. Can't do that anymore with the kikos and the LGD's.

I know someone on here has the "formula" so to speak...I'll be watching to see what they say too!

 

[LadyIsabelle2011]

I've always weighed my goats the same way southern by choice does it, just a normal scale the I stand on with the goat and then subtract my weight. It's not fancy or easy but is gets the job done.

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

That's how I weigh mine. I pick them up and stand on the scale. Two of the Kikos are too big now and the largest I can do is just past 120. That's all the LGD's and all the goats, but not Alana and Sis.

 

[jodief100]

Bought myself one of these.

Of course I know this is out of the price range for most people but we LOVE it!

Before that I picked them up and stood on the bathroom scale. When they got too big for me I had hubby do it.

 

[Four Winds Ranch]

I got one like jodief100! Just mine is green and a little older! I got it off of Kijiji (Craig's List) for $75!!! Works awesome!!!
If ya got more than 50 head, it is to hard on the ol' back to even attempt the bathroom scale method!!!

 

[20kidsonhill]

We have what jodie has, but it is expensive.
It isn't very accurate for under 30 lbs, so we stand on a bathroom scale to weight the smaller ones.

For newborns, I use a bucket and a hanging scale,

 

[Shelly May]

Mine is a big Floor model like your vet would use on large dogs, it is digital and has a diamond plate surface
for none slipping, my DH built a wooded inclosed frame around it with a door on each end, so sheep go in one
end, weighed then out the other end, this is easy and nice. He built a top ledge so you can put paper work up
on shelf and write info as far as weights down. He also included a side tray for your meds/wormers ect, this is
so if the sheep hit it they won't fall out and bust. The walls are tall and solid so sheep can't jump out or hang out.
the capacity is 600 lbs, I believe we gave around $500.00 for it on line. We have a concrete floor so it is easy
to level it up. If you look them up under livestock scales, you can find some cheaper, as they have different weight
max's.

 

[SheepGirl]

I bought a $315 livestock scale online. Free shipping. Works great. No more guessing weights or taping them or holding them while using a bathroom scale.

I found that my 130 lb taped ewe actually weighed 144
My 160 lb taped ewe actually weighed 199
My 133 lb taped ram actually weighed 123
My lambs however taped within 3 lbs of their actual weights

But if you want to tape weigh them, then you measure their heart girth and their length. Then you multiply heart girth x heart girth x length and divide that answer by 300.

 

[Catahoula]

I bought a $315 livestock scale online. Free shipping. Works great. No more guessing weights or taping them or holding them while using a bathroom scale.


But if you want to tape weigh them, then you measure their heart girth and their length. Then you multiply heart girth x heart girth x length and divide that answer by 300.

I tried the tape around the girth, tried doing the girth x girth x length and divided by 300... that estimated just didn't come near the actual weights of my animals. Unfortunately there is no cheap ways to get your animal's actual weights... The $315 livestock scale is on my wish list...