Live Weight Estimation in Pelibuey Sheep Breeders using Digital Image Analysis

Abstract

The present work was carried out in the sheep unit belonging to the Guayabal Farm of the Mayabeque Province. 20 Pelibuey breeders were used in the same conditions of handling and feeding; with the aim of estimating the body weight of the breeders using Digital Image Analysis (DIA). Live weight was estimated from four methods (A and B) from the area of the animal in a digital image and by the method (conventional) that used the thoracic perimeter and weighing on the scale. For the processing of the images, the DIA 2013 software was used. With the weights estimated by the four methods (A, B, conventional and scale), a simple ANOVA was performed to determine if there were differences between the methods used. The results obtained showed that there are no significant statistical differences between the methods under analysis. The system proved to be reliable and less subjective than descriptive-type linear features and even instrumental measures.