Ahead of the start of breeding it is important to assess the body condition score (BCS) of your cows and take measures to increase the condition of cows if needed.
In just over a month’s time, some farms will be starting their breeding season for 2023, while others will be in the final stages of planning.
If you don’t assess the condition of the cows it is impossible to identify cows that have a BCS that is too low.
If these cows go unnoticed it will likely result in them not going in-calf and ultimately, they may not be in the herd next year.
BCS
Therefore, the monitoring of BCS in cows in the lead up to calving is vital to ensure that conception rates are high once breeding starts.
Cows with a BCS that is too low during the breeding season can have a detrimental impact on the fertility performance of the herd.
When assessing a cow’s BCS, the key areas to check are the fat cover over the loin, plates, and pin bones of the pelvis and tail areas. You should use your hand for this assessment.
Cows can be graded on a scoring system of between one and five:
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. Transverse processes are completely covered by fat, and the animal’s mobility is impaired.
OAD milking
An option for some farmers to improve BCS in cows will be the use of once-a-day (OAD) milking in the lead up to breeding. This will work on some farms and cows, but not all.
Some farmers may consider increasing the amount of concentrates being fed to cows, but this will actually lead to an increase in production.
The aim is actually to decrease the production demand placed on the cow so more energy can be put into gaining condition.
You should continue to feed these cows twice a day in the parlour; the only change is that you don’t put the clusters on.
Consideration
It is important to note that not every cow is suitable for OAD milking and there are a number of reasons why.
Some cows will be producing too much milk to be switched to OAD milking and if they were you could have cell count or mastitis issues.
There are also going to be some cows that will be ruled out due to their udders, for example a cow with a low-hanging udder should not be milked OAD.
Again, there is an increased risk of mastitis or cell count issues here.