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Body Condition Scoring
ELDON COLE
MT. VERNON, MO.
We’ll shorten the above to BCS and tell you the range is from 1 very thin and weak, up to a 9, which is overly fat/obese. The mid-range 5’s and 6’s are good targets to aim for at calving for mature cows. First-calf heifers should be in a 6 or possibly 7 BCS if you expect them to come into estrus after calving in a time frame so they’ll have about a twelve-month calving interval.
A 6 BCS cow, heifer or bull should have no ribs visible, nor backbones showing. There should be some fullness in the brisket and plumpness on either side of the tail-head. The 5 BCS animal is obviously thinner and you’ll be able to detect a bit of rib showing in the last pair or two. Compared to the 6 animal of the same frame and type this animal will weigh 80 to 100 less. This lower weight represents reduced fat. You don’t want the 5 animal to drop another 80 lbs. or so as it will drop into the 4 BCS range. The 4’s definitely show multiple ribs, backbone and the loin edge will show a lack of covering.
A 4 cow is acceptable if they’ve just weaned a calf and have time to add the 80 lbs. back before calving with good nutrition. Adding weight is a challenge if the weather is cold, rainy, snowy, muddy, etc. Other factors that retard weight gain are low quality hay, no pasture, parasites both internal and external, old age, poor teeth and chronic health problems.
To add weight to an otherwise healthy animal takes very good hay and plenty of it. If hay is limited as well as pasture, resort to 2 to 5 lbs. per day of high-energy concentrate feed. Lick supplements may not be consumed in sufficient quantities to attain the desired daily gains.
Some of you may even have small grain pasture, wheat, rye or barley that with adequate growth is an excellent protein and energy source. If possible, limit the cows’ time on the pasture to 3 to 5 hours per day, which extends the usefulness of the small grain as a supplement. ∆
ELDON COLE: Extension Livestock Specialist, University of Missouri
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