Livestock Weighing Supplies

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Livestock weighing is a crucial component of successful farm, or veterinary practice management. Whether the livestock is large or small, knowing the weight of the animals is critical to make well informed decisions regarding their care, sale, and slaughter. Changes in weight can be an early indication of health issues, and breeding performance can be directly impacted by animal weight and health condition. In addition, farmers must know the current weight of livestock to ration the animal’s food properly to meet target weights on time, as well as to administer the proper amount of medication when it is needed. Because livestock’s future performance is associated with their weight at the time of weaning, keeping close tabs on a weaning animal’s weight is also very important.

Supplies Used In Livestock Weighing

• Tape: Some farmers use weigh tape to estimate livestock weight. Weigh tape comes designed for the specific animal (horse, cattle, hog, etc), but regular measuring tape and a formula can be used to the same effect. Weigh tapes are by far ...
... the cheapest option for livestock weighing, but are probably the least accurate. They are the most functional when they are used by the same person in a consistent manner.

• Platform Scales: The animals walk onto this type of scale, which should have a very low and wide platform to make it as simple as possible to get the animal on and off the scale. Often these scales are outfitted with crates or cages to ensure the animal stays on the platform long enough to be weighed. For weighing cattle and other large livestock, choose a platform scale designed specifically to weigh large animals †ideally, the scale should be able to weigh up to 2500 pounds or more. A livestock platform scale should also have a weight average and hold function that automatically averages the fluctuating weights of moving animals. Moreover, the fewer moving parts, the better, as heavy livestock will wreak havoc on anything but a welded frame. Because animals are messy, the scale should be water resistant, and anything electronic, including the display and load sensors, should be totally sealed from moisture. Ideally, the load cells should be made from stainless steel.

• Hanging Scales: Smaller livestock (under about 200 pounds) can be weighed by a hanging scale. There are many advantages to using hanging scales; they are usually cheaper than other livestock scales, and they are almost always lightweight and portable. Slings, which slip safely around the animal’s belly, can be purchased for use with the hanging scale along with specialized brackets from which the hanging scale is hooked.

• Load Bars: Load bars are mounted underneath a platform, cattle squeeze chute, hog crate, or feed hopper, and often can be installed outside. Some sort of averaging system is also needed for this type of scale, as animals tend to move about around the platform or crate. Often, load bars will also have a function that can account for built up manure, snow, or mud on the surface. These scales are usually very accurate.