page_title: Dressed weight
section_title: Field dressing
hierarchical_section_title: Dressed weight / Field dressing
caption_attribution_description: English: Field Dressing of a White-tailed Deer. Hiawatha National Forest, Delta County, Michigan USA
context_page_description: Dressed weight refers to the weight of an animal after being partially butchered, removing all the internal organs and oftentimes the head as well as inedible portions of the tail and legs. It includes the bones, cartilage and other body structure still attached after this initial butchering. It is usually a fraction of the total weight of the animal, and an average of 59% of the original weight for cattle. There is no singular way to dress an animal, as what is removed depends on whether it will be cooked whole, or butchered further for sale of individual parts. For pigs, the dressed weight typically includes the skin, while most other ungulates are typically dressed without. For fowl, it is calculated with skin but without feathers. It can be expressed as a percentage of the animal's live weight, when it is known as the killing out percentage.
context_section_description: Field dressing is the act of minimally dressing (butchering) an animal in a way as to reduce the amount of weight that must be carried by removing the rumen ("gutting"), and sometimes other internal organs such as the heart.  This is commonly done by hunters of larger game such as deer or elk. The practice also prevents tainting of the meat by prolonged storage before refrigeration.  This type of dressing leaves the skin intact, as a protective barrier against foreign objects and dirt.  Typically, the animal will be properly and fully dressed at a later time, further reducing the net dressed weight.
caption: Field dressing a deer.
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