Weighing cattle by measurements.

Well it’s been a crazy month for weather, colder than February. We have been paying attention to our cows condition and feed. Mischief and Katie need to be gaining weight to cycle properly so we need to know what they weigh.


We don’t have a scale. There are tape measures available that give you an idea of weight by  measuring heart girth. I used them years ago in 4-H but they were not very accurate but my Mother found a formula using two measurements that was much better. Heart girth and length from the point of the shoulder to the pin bones.

The formula is simple:
Measure the heart girth
Measure the length of the animal from the point of the shoulder to the pin bones.
Use this formula with those measurements.

Heart girth X Heart Girth X Body length Divided by 300.
 This gives you a weight in pounds. [Not 100% acccurate but quite close.]

We have been using it to track the weight of all three beasts. It shows us our feed is working well and they are gaining properly. We thought it might be useful for anyone with a few cattle around the farmstead.

So today Mischief got to be our guinea pig and stand for photos. She was not amused but stoic!

Stand your animal fairly square on their feet.

Here are the places you need to measure.

We used a metal tape measure but you can use a string along the side and around the girth. Then simply measure the string. They often don't like the sound and feel of a metal tape.

Here Ralph has the tape in position for the length measure. His index finger is touching the bone at the point of the shoulder. That is where the measurement is read.

Here is the hearth girth measurement. It is snug but not super tight, try to get the same tightness every time you measure them. It means a more consistent reading from weight to weight.

Mischief weighed 502 pounds from this set of measurements. She is gaining 1.79 pounds per day, just right for her age and development. We want her well grown but not too fat.

We hope this is useful information.


We are enjoying the cattle very much. They are more work than chickens but sure work well 'with' the chickens. Now the poultry has figured out cow manure we see the cows surrounded by the poultry quite frequently.

Now I have to get a glass of milk.  Oh my Jersey Milk.....cold and rich and a bit of heaven.

God Bless you all and take note  of the blessings around you!