Ciao Maurizio

You will find a formula in FAO Animal Production and Health Paper 46

http://www.fao.org/docrep/012/x6549e/x6549e00.pdf

Regards

Mario

Ciao Mario

there is no formula, the document just provide an estimate (visual ?) of live body weight but crucially NOT how this estimate has been calculated !

So my question still stand!

Regards

Maurizio

There is a fabric/paper ruler in wide use (at least here in the U.S.) in hoofstock which estimates weight based on barrel girth. This might be useful for estimating a camel's weight if the measurement is made between the humps.

As a follow up, for a dromedary, if this ruler works, you can measure to the base of the hump and estimate a distance "through" to complete the measurement.

Hi Larraine, thanks .

Sure it is probably possible to develop a formula using some camel body measure. However what I was hoping was for a simple body estimation formula like the one used for dromedaries: Live weight (kg) = SH x CC x HC x 50 (SH = shoulder height in meters, CC = chest circumference, taken behind the pedestal, in meters

HC = hump circumference, from the top of the hump, in meters

50 = fixed parameter (this values is for tall breeds of camels, for short breeds 53 should be used , while for calves 48).

Perhaps the same formula could be used in bactrians with a few appropriate modifications.

I would think so. You could maybe just alter the formula to include two circumference measurements instead of just one. The fixed parameter should work the same for both species. Dromedaries and Bactrians do have a similar enough heights and weights.

Hi again Maurizio

Agree the estimate in the FAO paper is very crude, but could be refined. I remember a Chinese paper on weight estimates in Bactrians, but can't trace hard copy right now, am on a mission.

to validate it would a very straightforward piece of research you need just access to many bactrians and an electronic scale/crash. I bet you could use this formula:

Live weight: SHxAHCxBHCCx53 (Shoulder Height x Anterior Hump Circumference x Between Humps Chest Circumference x 53)