knowing the weight

[strawberriesclint]

hi everyone

i need to know the weights of my steers and not having scales i gather that there is a tape measure that you put around the animal and it gives you an idea of their weight. question is where can i get one, how accurate is it with dexters?

cyndy

[welshdexterboy]

Hi Cyndy I have used the weighband on other types of cattle and on pigs and it is fairly accurate not as accurate as a scale would be but it gives you an idea. There shouldn't be any difference with the dexter as it measures an animals girth to work out the weight. once you have done a few or if you have a friend who has a good eye for weight who can guide you then you will be close enough with your own eye. either way if you are selling them for meat you will get the dead weights back and that will be of use to you. Is it crucial you have accurate weights for these steers? Have they got a boxing match coming up? It would be interesting to know why.???

[Alison@Hatherland]

I know Farmrite sell weigh bands (which you can buy over the Internet) - I have one and is easy to use - but not sure about accuracy (as I have no other way of weighing them to compare!)

[Inger]

The weight bands aren't too bad for accuracy, as long as you guess their condition correctly. That makes a difference when you are drenching them. You don't want to under dose the animals, or the worms on your farm could develop drench resistance. Which is a real pain, I can tell you. Thankfully most drenches have a good safety margin for drenching, so you can give them a bit higher dose without danger.

[Duncan MacIntyre]

Only one instance I know, but when Ilsington Bramble was weighed on leaving the AI collection centre many years ago he was 550kgs on their weigh crush. On my weighband at the same time he was 552kgs.

Duncan