It is also extremely important on farms to ensure that animals are kept healthy. Animals such as pigs, alpaca, and llama are major investments, and it is most economically viable for a farmer to make sure that his animals are healthy and infection-free. Weighing farm animals may alert a farmer to a sick animal if its weight is too low.
When a sick animal is found, medication must be administered. Since all animals from pets, to wild animals in the zoo, to farm animals, differ greatly in size, they cannot all be given the same dosage of medication. Weighing sick animals helps to choose a proper safe dosage that will help cure the animal.
A standard veterinarian scale may have a capacity of 300kg. The platform size should be large enough to weigh even the largest dogs. One typical size is 22 x 44. It is useful for the electronic scale to be able to display small weight increments. Generally, 1/10 of a pound is sufficient. This allows the animal scale to also be used for smaller animals, such as cats or puppies. For much smaller animals, such as birds, gerbils, and small reptiles, a scale with greater accuracy should be used. These smaller scales may have a capacity of 25 lb, and readability of 0.005 lb (better than 1/10 of an ounce). The platform size can also be smaller. In this case, it is 12 x 16. There are a number of special features that are useful for a veterinarian scale.
