Livestock Management Activity for Non-Animal Chapters

Livestock Management - when you don't have livestock available for class activities then you do it yourself. Colquitt County FFA pulled out the masking tape and measured out the dimensions of various livestock species as a part of their livestock measurement class. 

So what? You say.

Well sometimes you either can't get access to the animals you need for class or the plans fell through, but the lesson has to go on. So, you do the best with what you have. In this case, they had lots of masking tape and plenty of wall space. The advisor wanted his students to understand the relationship between animal weight and the animal's dimensions.

It's very easy to assume your students know how to estimate the length, height, and width of animals but it's very different to have them map it out with tape and then measure it. This a great opportunity for students to realize the gaps in their knowledge and then work on a solution that meets the objective for the lesson. If the weight and height or your tape horse is so off that the corresponding weight puts the beast at 6,000 pound then they need to look at the tape and see if it's wrong, if the measurement is wrong, or their calculation is wrong.

If you want to see how this activity is completed with an actual animal then look at Measuring Weight and Age Through Manual Methods for how they did it a few years ago. If you need to go more in depth with your Animal Science class then take a look at these Livestock Worksheets in our store. Find something that will reinforce your lesson.