Cattle weight calculator from heart girth

1. Stand the animal square on level ground, with its head up.
2. Heart girth: pass the tape around the body just behind the front legs and shoulder blades. Pull it snug, but do not squeeze.
3. Body length: from the point of the shoulder to the pin bone, the rear point of the pelvis.

With the body length we use Schaeffer's formula: weight (kg) = heart girth² × body length ÷ 10,838, with both in cm.

With the heart girth only: weight (kg) = heart girth³ ÷ 13,200, which matches the usual weighing tape tables for beef cattle.

A tape is usually within 5–10% of the scale. It is less accurate for young calves, cows late in pregnancy, and very thin or very fat animals.