Research Project 7: The estimation of live weight and body condition score of working donkeys(1993-4)

Purpose
To develop a method of estimating live weight and body condition of working donkeys, making use of simple techniques that can be used in the field.

Activities
Age, sex, live weight and body measurements of 516 donkeys used to transport goods in Morocco were recorded.  There were few donkeys over 12 years of age.  For adults weighing from 74 to 252 kg, the best equation with only one variable was:

Live weight (kg) = heart girth (cm)^2.65/2188.

The inclusion of two variables improved the prediction marginally, but the addition of further variables gave little further improvement.  The best predicted equation for adult donkeys using two variables was:

Live weight (kg) = (heart girth [cm]^2.12 x length [cm]^0.688)/380. 

Other live weight prediction equations for donkeys and horses were tested on the data and tended to overestimate the weight of these working donkeys.

A subjective method for assessing the body condition of the donkeys was developed, using a scale from 1 (emaciated) to 9 (obese).  

Collaboration
The International Donkey Protection Trust provided the finance to purchase a portable electronic weight scale, and the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad (SPANA) provided technical assistance in Morocco.  Scientists from the CTVM and the Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire, Rabat collaborated on the project with SPANA.

Outputs
The methods have been published as a research paper and have been incorporated in a pictorial booklet of the body condition scoring method.

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