Estimation of Body Weight Based on Biometric Measurements by Using Random Forest Regression, Support Vector Regression and CART Algorithms

SIMPLE SUMMARY: This study aimed to estimate body weight from various biometric measurements and features such as genotype (share of Suffolk and Polish Merino genotypes), birth weight (BiW), sex, birth type and body weight at 12 months of age (LBW) and some body measurements such as withers height (WH), sacrum height (SH), chest depth (CD), chest width (CW), chest circumference (CC), shoulder width (SW) and rump width (RW). Three hundred and forty-four animals were used in the study. Data mining and machine learning algorithms such as Random Forest Regression, Support Vector Regression and classification and regression tree were used to estimate the body weight from various features. Results show that the random forest procedure may help breeders improve characteristics of great importance. In this way, the breeders can get an elite population and determine which features are essential for estimating the body weight of the herd in Poland. ABSTRACT: The study’s main goal was to compare several data mining and machine learning algorithms to estimate body weight based on body measurements at a different share of Polish Merino in the genotype of crossbreds (share of Suffolk and Polish Merino genotypes). The study estimated the capabilities of CART, support vector regression and random forest regression algorithms. To compare the estimation performances of the evaluated algorithms and determine the best model for estimating body weight, various body measurements and sex and birth type characteristics were assessed. Data from 344 sheep were used to estimate the body weights. The root means square error, standard deviation ratio, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, mean absolute percentage error, coefficient of determination and Akaike’s information criterion were used to assess the algorithms. A random forest regression algorithm may help breeders obtain a unique Polish Merino Suffolk cross population that would increase meat production.