Importance in
Dairy Animals
Body condition
scoring is a subjective method for estimating the quantity of
subcutaneous fat in specific anatomical regions on a live animal.
Actual body condition scores (BCS) and changes in scores over time
enable the farmer/supervisor to estimate the impact of various
management practices, especially the efficiency of nutrition on
reproduction, production of milk and on health. Scoring body
condition enables farmers to estimate and compare the body
conditions in various production groups and how much body tissue is
lipolized during the transition period . Thus, body condition scoring is an important tool in
daily management of dairy animals.
Methodology
Body condition is scored on a scale of
1 to 5. In dairy animals, a change in BCS is related to both
liveweight change and a change in body tissue
reserves. A score of 1 indicates
severe underconditioning
and a score of 5 is assigned to very obese animals. Quarter and half
scores,
sometimes expressed as pluses and minuses can be added to refine
scoring system.
With one system, relevant parts of
back and rump of the dairy animal are palpated to determine the
amount of fat tissue covering these areas. With another
system,
the same relevant parts of the animal are visually appraised. In
scoring body condition, particular attention is given to
tissue covering the vertebral spinous processes and transverse
processes of the lumbar vertebrae, tuber coxae (hooks), tuber
oschii (pins), and tissue
depressions between the backbone and the hook and pin bones. Also,
the slope between hook and pin bones and the hollowness
between tailhead and pin bones are evaluated. All these areas must
be considered for each animal.
Using 1 or 2 areas can be misleading. For accurate scoring, animal
must be standing. Frame size, breed, stage of lactation, milk
production level, and health status must be ignored for accurate
scoring.
In short, it can be stated that score 1 represents animals that are
emaciated with a skinny and bony appearance. A high
producing, early lactation animal
should have a score not lower than 2.5. A buffalo or cow with a
score of 2 or lower in early lactation indicates a shortage in dry
matter/energy intake at an earlier stage. A milking buffalo or cow
in good condition is represented by score 3. Dry dairy animals
should score 3.25 to 3.5. Score 4 represents an overconditioned
animal. A score of 5 makes a dairy animal a prime candidate for fat
cow syndrome. Body condition scoring should be performed every 4
weeks for dry animals and every 4 to 6 weeks after calving. Young
stock should be scored at regular intervals of 2 months.
Condition can change very rapidly around puberty. Therefore, this
time period should be monitored
carefully. Pregnant heifers from about 2 months before parturition
can be scored at the same time as dry animals. BCS should be
recorded on recording sheets. This offers opportunity to follow
condition scores of individual buffaloes/cows over time. BCS of
individual animals during the dry period should be put on the
examination list within the frame work of herd fertility programme.
Clinical findings can be related with changes in body condition.

Recommended Body Condition Scores in Dry Period and Various
Lactation Stages
Dry Period:
Dairy
animals with extreme condition scores at calving are at a higher
risk of increased health problems, reproductive disorders, and lower
peak and lactation yields. Animals that calve with low condition
scores (less than 3.0) received
inadequate energy during late lactation and/or during the dry
period. Such animals show a suboptimal peak yield with a good
persistency. Additional energy intake may be necessary to achieve
maximum production in thin animals.
One has to realize that body
cannot be easily, nor rapidly adjusted during a normal dry period
length. During this period, an increase of 0.5 in BCS is the
maximum that can be reasonably achieved. Animals that calve with a
BCS higher than 3.5 indicate that energy intakes were too high
during late lactation and/or the dry period.
Generally, an
overconditioned animal is at an increased risk of calving problems,
reduced feed intake, severe condition loss, and a complex of
metabolic, digestive, reproductive, and infectious diseases.
Overconditioned animals often have a history of diseases in previous
lactation such as mastitis or infertility and are often dried off
early, leading to extended dry periods which may result in a vicious
circle. Most of these problems can be avoided in the future, if
dairy animals are fed balanced
late-lactation and dry-animal rations. It is not advisable to reduce
body weight during the dry period. This will lead to
mobilization of fat from body tissues, deposition of fat in the
liver, and all the associated metabolic problems. Thus, it is
important for the dairy farmer to strike a balance between allowing
animals to be too fat or too thin at calving and also to monitor
body condition changes after calving in order to feed them properly.
Early Lactation:
It is recommended that animal in early
lactation should not lose more than 0.75 unit of condition score.
The target score in this period is between 2.5 and 3.0. Dairy
animals that lose 1.0 or more BCS are at an increased risk of
metabolic problems and reproductive inefficiency. High producing
animals under excellent conditions of management may drop a full
condition score without any problem. BCS should not drop after 4
weeks. In healthy animals it will take about another 8 weeks (12
weeks postpartum) before BCS will start improving under normal
feeding regimes and adequate nutrient balance. The greatest
challenge in early lactation is to maximize dry matter intake so
that body condition changes and
negative energy balance will be minimized. Ideally, a dairy animal
should not lose more than 0.75 of a score unit
over the first 30 days of
lactation. Animals that have lost more than 1 condition score and
are not producing to their potential are not receiving or
utilizing enough energy or are experiencing increased incidence of
metabolic problems. Feeding management must then be evaluated along
with dry matter and water intakes, including the quality of
feedstuffs. If BCS
change is less
than 0.5 units in the first 4 weeks of lactation, animals may not be
producing to their potential, nutrient balance
and feeding management should be evaluated.
Mid-Lactation:
By 12 weeks postpartum, buffaloes and cows should begin to replete
body tissue reserves. At this time, a gradual increase in BCS should
be observed. The target score level is 2.75 and 3.25. If BCS is not
increasing at this time then
animals are not receiving adequate energy and the cause should be
investigated. If BCS is greater than 3.5, energy intake needs
to be reduced to avoid overconditioning and subsequent fat dairy
animal problems.
Late Lactation:
During
this stage, BCS should be approaching 3.5 (the recommended BCS at
dry-off). This is the most economical time to replete body tissue
reserves, because metabolic demands are the lowest. The energy
demands of milk production are lower, while the metabolic demands of
the developing foetus are not yet elevated. Animal should not be
allowed to become overconditioned nor should they be denied the
opportunity to adequately replete body tissue reserves. Either
condition will influence productivity in the next lactation. In high
producing herds and those milked 3 times daily or utilizing bovine
somatotropin, a change in grouping strategy may be required to
properly manage body condition.
Research findings
and field data suggest that the degree of changes in body condition
after calving influence health,
reproduction, and productivity in dairy animals more than the BCS at
calving. Current body condition scores reflect previous
energy balance, whereas changes in body condition after calving may
be associated with a higher incidence of fatty liver, impaired
fertility, and other health problems.

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