It is now a good time of year to assess the body condition score (BCS) of your spring calving cows to allow for plenty of time to sort out any cows that under condition before calving.
For the autumn calving cows, time is running out in terms of rectifying their condition before calving, so it needs to be done as soon as possible to get some of the skinny cows on a richer diet.
Second cut silage is wrapped up for a lot of the country, thanks to the good spell of weather we experienced in the last week.
A lot of farmers are eyeing up a third cut silage to try and close the gap on fodder deficits, and in that case, the focus needs to be fertilising the silage ground as soon as possible.
However, if third cut silage is is not on the cards for your system, the focus should turn to building average farm covers (AFCs) in the autumn and getting the cows in good condition for calving.
Body condition score
BCS is critical to a successful calving season, as the identification of thin cows early allows for steps to be taken to improve their condition in good time.
The first step is to BCS all of the animals in the herd, followed by providing extra care and attention to the thinner animals identified.
The aim is to have the cows at a BCS of 3.0 at drying-off, as this will give them the best chance of having a smooth calving and post-calving.
If a cow has low BCS now, you should start looking at improving her as soon as possible, rather than waiting for drying off.
To assess BCS, one must check by hand, the fat cover over the loin, plates, and pin bones of the pelvis and tail areas.
The BCS of a cow is graded on a scoring system of between one and five, as follows:
- Score 1: Individual transverse processes are fairly sharp to the touch and there is no fat around the tail head. Hip bones, tail head and ribs are visually prominent;
- Score 2: Transverse processes can be identified individually when touched, but feel rounded rather than sharp. There is some tissue cover around the tail head and over the hip bones. Individual ribs are no longer obvious;
- Score 3: Transverse processes can only be felt with firm pressure. Areas either side of the tail head have a fat cover that is felt easily;
- Score 4: Fat cover around the tail head is evident as slight ’rounds’, and is soft to touch. Transverse processes cannot be felt even with firm pressure. Folds of fat are developing over the ribs;
- Score 5: Bone structure is no longer noticeable, and the animal present a ‘blocky’ appearance. Tail head and hip bones are almost completely buried in fat, and folds of fat are apparent over the ribs.
This scoring of BCS is up for debate, as every farmer will have their own way of grading the cows and that’s perfectly acceptable, as long as the scoring is getting done and action is taken to get all cows at an ideal condition at drying off and calving.
It is important to carry out BCS but it is more important to follow up on the results and to put a plan in place in order to get all the cows in good condition.
Some of the methods may include putting thinner cows on once-a-day milking and feeding them more concentrates through the parlour. Either way, a plan needs to be put in place now.
For your autumn calving herd, the majority of cows will be calving in October to meet their liquid milk requirements, meaning their is still time to get their condition in order so that they are calving at 3.0 to 3.25.