Body weight, body condition score, and morphometrics of donggala cattle in Sigi Regency, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract A study was carried out to investigate the body weight profiles, body condition and body morphometrics of Donggala cattle under smallholder farming conditions. The research was conducted in the northern and southern parts of Sigi district. The cattle samples were selected using accidental sampling within predetermined areas. The observed cattle were categorized based on age and sex. Measured variables included body weight (BW), body condition score (BCS), body length (BL), chest circumference (CC), chest height (CH), chest width (CW), shoulder height (SH), hip height (HH) and hip width (HW). Research findings based on calf, young and adult age groups, as well as male and female sexes respectively. Correlation and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to determine the strength of relationships among variables and to identify the best predictors of Donggala cattle body weight. The correlation coefficients between variables ranged from 0.577 to 0.917, exhibiting a highly significant level of association (P<0.01). The body size variables that served as the best predictors of body weight varied across age categories. For calves, chest circumference (CC) and hip width (HW) were the optimal predictors; for young cattle, it was CC, chest height (CH), and HW; and for adult cattle, body length (BL), CC, CH, chest width (CW), and HW were significant predictors. Among the body size variables, chest circumference and hip width consistently demonstrated strong contributions to body weight across all age groups.