Sudden changes in body condition scores (BCS) can be an early warning sign of health problems in your herd. “If a cow is sickand quits eating, her body condition score can change dramatically in less than a week,” says Jodie A. Pennington, Universityof Arkansas Extension Dairy Specialist. He suggests, for example, that if a cow has a displaced abomasum soon after calving, her BCS may drop from 4.0 to 2.0 in less than seven days if she stops eating but is still producing reasonable quantities of milk.Dr. Pennington notes other cases where a drop inBCS could provide clues to specific herd health problems:

 

• Low scores in heifers or cows that have a heavyparasite load: These animals will generally not put on flesh like healthy animals.

• Cows or heifers that have a low grade respiratoryinfection: Their scores will not be maintained or increased as in healthy animals.

• A cow with Johne’s disease: In extreme cases, her BCSof less than 2.0 would contrast to the healthy herd’s scores, ranging from 2.5-4.0.

 

According to Pennington, both the herd’s healthand feeding can be related to low body condition scores.“Excessive feeding of concentrate in the ration, especiallywhen feeding low quality forages, can result in acidosisand a decrease in body condition score, which sometimesconfuses producers.”

The body condition score range is from 1.0-5.0, withincrements of 0.1, 0.25 or 0.5. The evaluation, and even the point system itself, can vary from one evaluator tothe next.To improve this potential variance and provide usefulanalysis of the results, Dr. Pennington suggests that thesame individual should evaluate the animals each time. If this is not possible, the evaluators should be consistent in assigning scores to the cows. “Changes in body condition scores are what are important,” he says.Data from BCS may be recorded manually on cow cards or entered into acomputer, allowing for quick summaries when needed. Dr. Pennington providesthese general guidelines regarding body condition scores:

 

• 1.5—This cow is ideal for demonstrating key indicators of problems such assickness and too little nutrition, but little else.

• 2.0—This cow is too thin. She may be in good health, but her reproductionand milk production may suffer from a lack of body condition. Her backbonesare easily seen, but they do not stand out as individual vertebra.

• 3.0—This cow is in ideal body condition for a mid-lactation cow.

• 4.0—Although many producers want their cows to be heavy at calving, research has shown that fat cows lose more condition, eat less and have morepost-calving problems than cows that freshen at half a condition score lower. ABCS 4.0 cow looks fleshy.

• 5.0—An obese cow is at high risk for metabolic problems and lameness and will most likely remain open for months at a time.

 

Pennington concludes that BCS can be a useful management tool to improvethe bottom lines of your dairy enterprise through increased milk production, better reproductive performance and improved herd health.

University of Arkansas dairy expert Jodie Pennington says body condition scores (BCS) can be recorded at various times throughout lactation, depending on the amount of information needed. For example, one BCS system used by the Dairy Records Management System, recordsbody condition score at calving, at first breeding, just past mid-lactation (90 – 100 days before going dry) and at dry-off. “These condition scores provide an indication of the feeding status of the herd as well as any health problems they might have,” he states. 

Body condition scoring can be useful for monitoring the energy status of heifers, according to University of Arkansas ExtensionDairy Specialist Jodie Pennington. “Heifers that are too fat deposit fat in the udder, which might later inhibit formation of milk secretingcells,” he says. “If heifers get too fat, they may also accumulate fat in their reproductive tract, which will decrease fertility and increasethe likelihood of dystocia.” Also, according to Dr. Pennington, older heifers that get too fat are more prone to have the same metabolic problems as lactating cows at the time of calving.On the other hand, heifers that are too thin will have decreased fertility and other health problems compared to heifers that arethrifty and growing well. Generally, heifers will have slightly lower body condition scores than cows. For heifers less than 6 months old,their BCS should range from 2.0 to 3.0.Dr. Pennington provides these additional general BCS considerations for heifers:

 

 • In most cases, heifers should not have a BCS exceeding 3.5.

• It is recommended that older heifers freshen at a 3.5 BCS.

• A BCS of 2.5 to 3.0 is desirable for heifers between 6 months oldand breeding age.

• At breeding, and shortly thereafter, the BCS of heifers maygradually increase from 3.0 to 3.5.

• Use caution in adding energy to heifer rations during late gestation.The extra feed may contribute to large calves, resulting in calving problems.