Body condition scoring a helpful tool for cattle producers

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but cattle producers whose incomes depend on the quality of their animals might prefer a more technical approach.

Body Condition Scoring (BCS) can be a valuable management tool for estimating the amount of energy reserves (body fat) an animal is carrying. Body condition can be used to adjust feeding programs throughout the year to optimize efficient use of available feed, to maintain herd fertility (the likelihood of cows cycling and breeding on time) and, indirectly, to maintain calf weaning weights.

In a sense, BCS adds scientific calibration to the experienced eye of the cattleperson. Although it is still somewhat subjective as a hands-on determination, the practice is more accurate than visual appraisal alone.

Adele Buettner, the Executive Director of the Farm Animal Council of Saskatchewan (FACS), says BCS is important because even experienced producers can have difficulty picking more than the extremes of very thin or very fat animals in a herd with a mixture of body types.

"Through discerning and managing the in-between scores of the majority of the cow herd, the good cattleperson can make a difference in controlling feed costs while maintaining productivity," Buettner stated.

To give producers more information on the practice of Body Condition Scoring, FACS has devoted one of its many Cattle FACS fact sheets to the subject.

"The information we provide through these fact sheets has been developed by committees of cattle care experts with specific knowledge in each of the topic areas covered," Buettner said. "FACS offered to co-ordinate the effort, produce the material and make it as widely available to producers as possible."

The FACS fact sheet discusses the Scottish Body Condition Scoring System, which is widely used in Canada. This system allocates a score between one and five for a cow, although half scores are also allowed.

"It is said to be an easy system to learn, and anyone can do it with a little practice," Buettner noted.

A BCS score is assigned by estimating the body fat content of the animal. This is done by applying thumb pressure on the end of the short ribs over the loin area between the hip bone (hook) and the last rib. There is no muscle at the end of the short ribs, so any padding on the ribs is fat cover. The estimated BCS score is then corroborated by visually appraising fat cover around the tail head and hips.

A score of BCS 1 indicates a cow that is "severely emaciated." An animal marked as BCS 2 is deemed to be "moderately thin." A BCS 3 cow is viewed as "optimum." BCS 4 signifies an animal that is "moderately fleshy," while a cow scored BCS 5 is determined to be "very fat."

"The experts suggest that herds should ideally be body condition scored at weaning, at calving, and 30 days before breeding," Buettner said. "Each cow should be scored, and records kept from year to year. In a large herd, scoring a percentage of cows might be a sufficient indicator."

According to the fact sheet, for optimum efficiency of winter feeding and rebreeding following calving, mature cows should go into winter with a minimum BCS of 3.0 and not drop below BCS 2.5 at calving or during the breeding season. First- and second-calf heifers should not drop below 3.0 at calving and during the breeding season.

Nutritional management strategies which focus on maintaining these BCS levels are said to result in lower winter feed costs, faster post-calving return to oestrus, a higher percentage of calves born early in calving season, and higher weaning weights.

The Cattle FACS fact sheet on Body Condition Scoring can be obtained from the council's website at http://www.facs.sk.ca/ or by calling (306) 249-3227.

FACS is a membership-based, non-profit organization that represents the livestock industry in advancing responsible welfare, care and handling practices in agriculture. It endeavours to raise producer awareness of the economic and ethical benefits of animal welfare and help consumers achieve a greater understanding of animal care issues.

For more information, contact:
Adele Buettner, Executive Director
Farm Animal Council of Saskatchewan Inc.
Phone: (306) 249-3227
E-mail: facs@sasktel.net
Website: http://www.facs.sk.ca/