WEIGHTS

 

How to add weights to an animal record, compare weights and build reports.

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Weight monitoring is a critical aspect of captive animal welfare. In addition to recording weights, reporting on them for your local collection in many ways, your entries are automatically included in the globally pooled weights for that species.

 

Topics:

• Adding Weights
• Medical Weights
• Viewing weights in weight comparison report to compare to global averages
• Comparing weights in your local collection with the animal graphing tool
• Target Weight Range
• Reports

 

Adding Weights

To record an animal weight, open a record > Details tab > Weight > Actions > Add New.

1. Record the date of the measurement; estimate options are available
2. Measurement Time may be important is taking multiple measurements during a 24 hour period
3. Measured by is helpful should you have questions on the measurement\
4. The options for Type are Live weight or Dead weight
5. Record the measurement and the Unit of Measure
6. If the measurement was an Estimate check the box. An estimated weight will automatically check the Exclude from Norms checkbox but you can uncheck it if desired.
7. Record the quality of the measurement
8. The Measurement equipment may be valuable information, especially if you are questioning the measurement
9. Additional details as needed such as why the weight was estimated

 

You can also add weights from Animal Measurement Templates , Husbandry Log Templates and from Batch Actions.

 

Medical Weights

Weights that are recorded in the Medical module will also display in the Husbandry Weight grid. The outlined weights below were sourced from the Prescription/ Treatment and the Anesthesia modules. Weights entered via the Medical module cannot be edited from the Husbandry grid and must be edited/deleted from the module in which they were entered. You can also export the grid to Excel or PDF by using the icons in the upper left.

Note: Estimated weights only appear in the husbandry grid from anesthesia and pathology, but not for prescriptions. Including prescriptions would typically result from multiple Rx records at the same time which then would show as multiple weight estimates on the same day.

 

Graphing Weights

 

This graph will soon be replaced by the Animal Graphing Tool .
 

You also have the option to view a graph of the weights recorded by selecting the View Weight Graph button. The graph is drawn from current records so it is always up-to-date. You can choose to change the reporting dates that the graph will use and can export these graphs for use outside of ZIMS. Viewing the graph is a quick way to spot data entry errors. Additionally, if you wish to see trends in weight changes, such as seasonally expected weight gains/losses, the graph view will make this effort easier. Below we see two weights that appear questionable. Hovering over the dots will display the date of the weights.

 

 1.This weight is a data entry error and an easy fix. Looking at the Weight grid we see that in incorrect Unit of Measure (gram) was used instead of kilogram.

2.This weight is not a data entry error, but viewing the Note lets you know that the weight was questioned immediately. This is an example where knowing what equipment was used may be beneficial. Since the weight taken the next day appears to be accurate, you may consider deleting this weight or marking it to Exclude From Norms.

 

Addition of weights to an animal’s record can be achieved by any staff that has been granted rights to this feature in their ZIMS role. While the effort to add weights to each animal’s record may seem like a great effort, when multiple staff are allowed to enter data into ZIMS the effort is shared and the collection of high quality data is achieved.

 

Target Weight Range

 

You can now define a target weight range for animals in your collection. More on setting up Target Weight Range Template here . Once a range template is active for an animal,  you will see the defined range at the top of the weight entry grid:

To have access to this feature, the user must have a role that permits, at least:

Search/View for Local Reports & Tools > Measurement Range Template

 

Once defined, a logged in user can view the target weight range for an animal in the search results screen by adjusting the column customization settings to add:

• Measurement Type
• Measurement Minimum Value
• Measurement Maximum Value
• Measurement Unit of Measure

 

 

Reporting

 

The active target range will now show on Activity Report and Daily Report as filter options in addition to Weights:

 

Activity Report output example :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daily Report output example:

 

Animal Graphing Tool output example:

Weights will display on the Animal Graphing Tool, and Target Weight Range exceptions will display in red on the graph. Hover your mouse over the red exception to see the active target range:

 

See additional help on target weight range, weight comparison and animal graphing.

 

Additional help:

More on Animal Graphing Tool here
More on Weight Comparison Report here

More on Target Weight Range Template here

Revised 5 March 2025