Body Condition Scores, BCS, are the numbers used to “suggest the relative fatness or body composition of the cow," according to Animal Science expert, and University of Arkansas Extension specialist, Dr. Shane Gadberry. A good BCS for a cow should fall somewhere from five to seven, if she is at her optimum condition.
Most body condition reports use a range of one to nine. One would be a very thin cow, and nine would be an excessively fat cow. Scoring is done subjectively, but shouldn’t vary drastically if using the ‘one to nine’ system.
There are practical implications of body scores for farmers including how to keep cows in the ‘optimum condition’ range, and how their body condition scores affect profit.
According to Gadberry, drastic changes in body condition should be avoided so that supplementation of the herd may be minimized. The animal will need to be supplemented in order to bring her body condition back to a healthy range after parturition. This is because BCS directly correlates with the “length of the post-partum interval, lactation performance, health and vigor of the newborn calf, and the incidence of calving difficulties in extremely fat heifers,” Gadberry said.
In order to achieve a system where the producer is supplementing just enough, but not too much for each animal, he recommended that cattle should be paired with their forage supply by body condition evaluations, which should be made at various times of the year. For spring calving herds, he recommended checking the scores at midsummer, fall weaning, 60 days before calving, the beginning of breeding in the spring and at calving. Gadberry continued, “The condition of cows at breeding affects their reproductive performance in terms of services per conception, calving interval and the percentage of open cows.
“In commercial practice, body condition scoring can be carried out regularly and satisfactorily in circumstances where weighing may be impractical. The technique is easy to learn and useful when practiced by the same person in the same herd over several years," he suggested.
He recommended keeping the program simple. A thin cow looks very sharp, angular and skinny, while a fat one looks smooth and boxy with bone structure hidden from sight or feel. The one to nine scale according to Gadberry is as follows: A score of one is considered “emaciated," with bone structure easily visible. Two is “very thin," with little evidence of fat deposits but some muscling in hindquarters. Three is “thin," with fat beginning to cover over the loin, back and fore ribs. Four is “borderline," where the fore ribs are not noticeable, but there’s a straightness of muscling in the hind quarter. Five is “moderate," 12th and 13th ribs aren’t visible and areas on each side of the tail head are fairly well filled but not mounded. Six is “good," the ribs are fully covered and the hindquarter is plump and full. Seven is “very good," where abundant fat covers either side of the tail head and spaces between bones and joints can barely be distinguished. Eight is “fat," with the animal taking on a smooth, blocky appearance. Nine is “very fat," where the bone structure cannot be seen or easily felt.
Trials have shown that too-thin cows can take longer to re-breed. With the negative affects on cattle and their reproductive tendencies based on their body scores, it’s important to correct body scores in order to achieve optimum profit in a herd.
Gadberry recommended dividing cattle into two groups (or more if is economically feasible). The first group should contain the cows in the three, four, and five BCS range, and the other in the six, seven and eight BCS range (as most animals will fall into these two categories). The first group should receive an improved ration, supplemental grain and improved forage, while the second group should remain on the same forage, unless there are a few very fat cows – in which case they can be separated out into a third group and receive a limited ration.
Gadberry continued, “To optimize herd performance, producers should choose a calving season that complements their forage program. For example, in spring calving herds, fall-seeded small grain pasture is often used as an economical source of feed nutrients to improve body condition of cows prior to calving. Other feed sources such as chicken litter and corn, crop by-products, feed grains, and supplemental protein sources may also be used when forage supplies are inadequate.”
Practices To Improve BCS
1. Adjust stocking rate to ensure adequate forage for the herd.
2. Provide a good mineral, free-choice all year.
3. Control parasites and diseases
4. Cull open and poor producing cows.
Taking steps to improve the body condition scores and overall health of a herd will ensure a more profitable operation.
