Beginners Guide to Body Condition Scoring

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Beginners Guide to Body Condition Scoring

• A Tool for Dairy Herd Management
• Web Presentation
• Updated July, 2004

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• Using body condition scoring to fine tune herd
  nutrition and health management has become a
  widely accepted practice.
• This presentation is designed to
• Introduce you to body condition scoring
• Provide examples of cows scored 1 to 5

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Evaluating Body Condition vs. Type

• Type evaluation (classification, judging)
  compares animals to the ideal conformation
• Body condition scoring considers the relative
  fatness or thinness of animals

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Goals of Body Condition Scoring

• Early detection of potential health problems
• Identify areas for improved feeding management
• Improve herd health, production, reproduction,
  profitability

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Body Condition Scoring

• Visual and tactile evaluation of body fat
  reserves
• Indication of energy balance
• Scale of 1 to 5, increments of 0.25
• Body Condition Score BCS
• BCS 1 emaciated cow (too thin)
• BCS 3 average body condition
• BCS 5 excessively fat cow

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Areas to Evaluate

• Rump / Pelvic Area
• Tailhead
• Hooks
• Pins
• Thurl
• Loin
• Short ribs
• Spine

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Side View
Rear View
Short Ribs
Hooks
Pins
Sacral Ligament
Thurl
Hooks
Tailhead Ligament
Thurl
Pins
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(Spinous Process)
If an animal is grossly fat, the bone structure
cannot be seen or felt through the fat. In thin
animals, the bone structures are very prominent.
(Short Ribs)
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Step-by-Step Process

• See Learn to Score Body Condition presentation
  on the dairy nutrition website
• Not a perfect science
• Scores should be similar (? 0.25)
• When measured on one animal or
• When measured by different people
• Separates average condition from extremes

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Extremely Fat
Extremely Thin
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Examples of ScoresPresented to help you see the
major differences for a more detailed system
of scoring, see Learn to Score Body Condition
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BCS 1 Severely Under-conditioned

• Side view
• Bones of tailhead easy to see
• Prominent backbone
• Tips of short ribs are clearly visible
• Hooks, thurl, and pins very prominent

Photo Not Available
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BCS 1
Rear view

• All boney prominences easily visible
• Hooks, pins, spine, ribs very sharp
• Deep cavities around tailhead
• Thin legs, poor muscle condition

Photo Not Available
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BCS 2 Severe Negative Energy Balance

• Tailhead prominent, limited skin cover
• Prominent backbone
• Limited skin cover on short ribs. From tip to
  spine, short ribs are visible ¾ of the distance
• Angular hooks and pins with prominent thurl

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BCS 2

• Hooks, pins, thurl prominent
• Tailhead area somewhat hollow, but has modest
  covering of flesh

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BCS 2.75 Slightly Thin

• Visible backbone
• Tip of short ribs smooth, but visible
• Hooks angular, but pins padded by fat
• V-angle formed between hooks, thurl, and pins

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BCS 2.75

• Hooks angular, but pins more rounded or padded
  with fat
• Hollow below tailhead compared to a BCS 3

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BCS 3 Good Condition

• More flesh covering backbone
• Tip of short ribs smooth
• Hooks and pins rounded and smooth
• V-angle formed between hooks, thurl, and pins

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BCS 3

• Hooks and pins rounded
• No deep depressions or fat deposits around
  tailhead

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BCS 3.25 Slightly Fleshy

• More flesh covering backbone
• Tip of short ribs very smooth
• Hooks and pins more rounded and smooth
• U-angle formed between hooks, thurl, and pins

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BCS 3.25

• Rounded hooks pins
• Sacral and tailhead ligaments visible

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BCS 4 Over-conditioned

• Backbone barely visible
• Short ribs very smooth, tips barely visible
• Hooks and pins very smooth, but visible
• Flat between hooks and pins

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BCS 4

• Hooks pins rounded, but visible
• Rump and thurl flat
• Sacral and tailhead ligaments not visible

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BCS 5 Severely Over-conditioned

• Backbone not visible
• Short ribs flat, bones not visible
• Hooks and pins not visible
• Flat over rump and tailhead

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BCS 5

• All boney prominences rounded and covered in fat
• Tailhead buried in fat
• Fat deposits readily seen on rump and legs

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Summary

• The body condition scoring scale
• Under-conditioned cows BCS 1
• Over-conditioned cows BCS 5
• Determining a cow's BCS
• Look at pelvic area and loin
• Fat deposits become evident ? cow is over
  conditioned
• Bone structures become prominent ? cow is thin