To remain in the breeding herd, a cow must produce and successfully raise a calf each year and successfully reconceive within 90 days of parturition. To ensure that the cow has the best possible chance of fulfilling these requirements, she must be in optimum condition at mating. The nutritional status of a cow is reflected in her body condition, and therefore can be controlled, to a large extend. Body condition scoring of beef cattle can be an effective management tool for evaluating the energy reserves of cows and the whole nutritional program throughout the year. Females that are too thin or too fat can be an expensive investment. Thin cows can have difficulty rebreeding while fat cows are prone to calving problems and excessive feed cost. Body condition scores allow producers, extension personnel, and researchers to communicate more effectively regarding the herd’s nutritional status.
Condition scoring is a simple management tool, aimed at assessing and describing the body condition of cows at strategic stages of the production cycle. The procedure is easy to learn although subjective.
In South Africa the condition scoring is based on a five-point scale: 1 represent an extremely thin animal and a score of 5 a grossly fat animal. A cow with a score of 3 is considered to be in a trim condition. In the UK and the USA, a 9-point scale is used. Condition scoring involves the subjective assessment of the fat cover over two specific areas. These areas are: The loin area (between the hip bone and the last rib) which incorporates the spinous and transverse processes of the lumbar vertebrae; The area around the tail head. Cows that are either too thin or too fat at mating are less likely to conceive. Calving interval may also be affected by the condition of the cow at mating. It is important to remember that a cow will normally lose at least half a condition score at calving, and
