Body Measurements Reflect Body Weights and Carcass Yields in Karayaka Sheep

This study was designed to estimate body weight from various body measurements in Karayaka sheep reared under rural extensive production systems. Animals were brought from different regions to slaughterhouse. Approximately 8 to 18 months-aged of Karayaka male (n = 67) and female (n = 55) sheep were used to investigate the relationships between bodyweights and body measurements such as Heart Girth (HG), Wither Height (WH), Chest Depth (CD), Chest Width (CW), Body Length (BL), Rump Height (RH), Thigh Circumference (TC) and Canon Circumference (CC). The R-2 values between body weight and body measurements ranged from 0.130 to 0.773. The highest R-2 values were found between body weight and chest depth (0.814, p<0.001) and between heart girth (0.792, p<0.001) for male and female, respectively. Correlation and regression analysis were applied to estimate the relationship among these traits. Therefore, it was concluded that body weight could be estimated by using a general equation from pooled data of Y = -25.8+2.10 CD; R-2 = 0.773 regardless of gender. Also, there were higher correlations (R-2 = 0.954) between body weight and both hot and cold carcass weight.