The cow’s Body Condition Score (BCS) is an important indicator throughout the year.
It plays a role in her ability to rebreed; because rebuilding it can be difficult, it also has to be maintained the rest of the year, and it even has an impact on the fetus growing inside her.
The BCS measures body fat cover on a scale from 1 to 9, with 1 being emaciated and 9 being obese.
Dr. Tom Troxel, Associate Director of Animal Science for University of Arkansas Extension, told Ozarks Farm & Neighbor the cow’s nutritional state contributes to the calf’s genetic programming. He also said a cow’s BCS can also be important to the calf before it is on the ground.
“What we have found with some recent research is that fluctuation of a cow’s BCS can impact the calf as it’s growing inside the cow,” he said. “It has become more and more evident through research that we’ve got to change our mindset to maintain a good body condition in our cows all year long, and not have this fluctuating body condition that we’ve had in the past. When that calf is born, the change in body condition of that cow has set some genetic triggers to affect that calf’s growth after it’s born. Calves that come from cows that are maintained in good body condition throughout pregnancy have a better start on life and do better than do those calves that came from cows whose body condition has fluctuated during pregnancy.”
Troxel said if a cow’s BCS has declined to 4 when she begins to lactate, it’s very difficult to rebuild in time to improve her chances of rebreeding. “Once you start feeding her extra energy, she’ll typically put that energy into milk production and not her body condition,” he said. “You really have to wait to try to reduce her demand on lactation to rebuild her body condition. Some people will try to creep feed calves to try to reduce the stress of lactation, but generally that practice will not do that because that calf will prefer Mama’s milk first, and then will go to creep feeding. So even if you put out creep feeding, thinking that you’ll reduce stress of lactation on the cow, that’s just a myth.”
Dr. Patrick Davis, University of Missouri Extension regional livestock specialist at Cedar County, Mo., told OFN, “From a cattle standpoint you want to be from 4 to 7, with a 4 being thin condition, fore rib not noticeable, full but not straight muscling in hindquarter, and tail head easily visible, and 7 being in very good flesh, ribs very smooth, trailhead shows fat pockets, and back appears square due to fat.”
Heifers should have a BCS of at least 5, which is moderate to thin condition, ribs covered except for the last two, little evidence of fat in the brisket over the ribs or around the tail head, and the spine can be felt by palpation.
A score of 5, he said, is optimum condition for the heifer to become pregnant. That needs to be raised prior to calving to 6, which denotes a good, smooth appearance of condition in which the ribs are fully covered, hindquarters are full and plump, and spine can be felt with only firm pressure.
The heifer is likely to lose one body condition score after calving, because her energy requirements for growth, lactation and repairing her reproductive tract are so great that she may need to pull energy from her body condition stores to meet those requirements. The cow, being fully grown, is less likely to lose one full score, and need only be between 5 and 6 at calving.
If a cow is lactating and falls below a body condition score of 4, Davis recommended weaning the calf if it’s big enough.
“She is not providing adequate nutrition though her milk to meet calf requirements,” he said. “It is more efficient to wean the calf and feed it and the cow by themselves. Also, you don’t want the cow to get too thin because if she does it is hard to get her back into optimum condition before the next calving season.”
