Body Condition Scoring Suckler Cows
8 November 2024What are the benefits of body condition scoring?
Ensuring that cows are at the right body condition means:
- Efficient use of feed and supplemental feed is not given to cows that don’t need it.
- Reduced risk of calving difficulties associated with very lean or over-weight cows.
- Better calf vigour at birth and improved growth until weaning.
- Improved fertility, making it easier to get the cow pregnant again.
How to body condition score
Cows can sometimes look fatter or leaner than they really are. Using your hands rather than your eye to condition score is the best way to get an accurate assessment of condition.
Cow condition varies over the course of the year. Based on body fat levels cows can be considered LEAN, GOOD, or FAT. LEAN cows should always be avoided. Being FAT may be normal after summer grazing. You should aim for cows to calve and be mated in GOOD condition. (If you are familiar with the 1-5 condition score scale, GOOD corresponds to a score of between 2.5 and 3.5).
Focus primarily on the area of the short ribs that lie in front of the hook of the pelvis (Figure 1). The tail head can help to refine your assessment.
Place your hand on the ends of the short ribs. Feel the amount of fat between the skin and bones.
Figure 1
What do different body conditions feel like?
Cows are in GOOD body condition if you can feel the bones but there is a substantial layer of fat between the skin and bones.
If the cow is LEAN:
- the ends of the short ribs will feel sharp
- there will be a deep cavity at the tail head and the pelvis can be felt with little or no fat under the skin
If the cow is FAT:
- it will not be possible to feel the bones of the short ribs even with firm pressure
- the tail head will be filled with fat and the pelvis cannot be felt
When to body condition score
- With practice, condition scoring using the hands should take you no more than 10 seconds per cow.
- You can easily fit body condition scoring alongside other routine procedures, such as pregnancy testing.
- You should aim to score early in pregnancy to allow time to adjust body condition gradually.
- Ideally score again later in pregnancy to assess whether the adjustments made to condition have been successful. You should aim to have all cows in GOOD condition before calving.
What to do with the body condition information
- Form management groups as early in pregnancy as possible based on body condition.
- Allocate the highest quality silage and supplementary feed to groups of leaner cows.
- Consider weaning a cow early if she is particularly lean to allow her to recover condition.
- Do not attempt to change a cow’s condition too rapidly and not at all in the month before calving.
Body condition scoring is quick and simple to perform during routine handling. It can help you make timely management decisions to improve calf performance and cow fertility.
Produced in partnership with SRUC
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