Dairy Vitals
Free tool

Cattle weight calculator

No scale handy? Measure around the chest and along the body with a soft tape, and get an estimate of the animal's weight in kilograms and pounds. It works in centimetres or inches, and nothing you enter is saved.

Measure in

Around the chest, just behind the front legs.

Point of shoulder to point of buttock.

Estimated weight

Enter both measurements to see an estimate.

How to measure

Illustration of a person measuring a dairy cow with a soft tape. Heart girth is the loop around the chest just behind the front legs and over the withers; body length is the straight line from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttock.
Read the steps as text
  1. Stand the animal on level ground, head up, weight on all four legs, and keep the tape snug but not tight.
  2. Heart girth: wrap a soft tape around the chest right behind the front legs and over the withers.
  3. Body length: measure in a straight line from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttock (pin bone).
  4. Enter both numbers in the same unit, then read the estimate.
Illustration of a person measuring a dairy cow with a soft tape. Heart girth is the loop around the chest just behind the front legs and over the withers; body length is the straight line from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttock.

This is an estimate from a standard formula (heart girth × heart girth × body length ÷ 10,840). Real weight varies with breed, age, body condition and how carefully you measure, so treat it as a guide. Don't use it to work out medicine doses — use a scale or ask your vet.

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