Condition score cows this fall
Fall pregnancy testing is a good time to condition score cattle. It is important because the nutritional state of a cow affects pregnancy rate, calving interval, milk production, the weaning weight of calves and heifer maturity.
“Although it sounds technical, condition scoring is simple and easy to do,” said Terry Holmgren, cow/calf specialist with Alberta Agriculture in St. Paul.
“The procedure involves manually checking the fat deposited on the short ribs and around the tail head. The amount of fat present is a good indicator of the nutritional state of the animals.”
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Condition scoring is a better judge of body energy content than eyeballing or using body-to-weight ratios.
“The condition scoring system commonly used goes from one to five,” added Holmgren. “One is very thin and five is grossly fat. Producers want to keep cattle within a range of 2.5 to three. Cattle coming off pasture and going onto feed should be in fairly good condition.” It’s expensive in terms of feed and money to condition cows before calving, he said.
Cows should be condition scored three times a year. At fall pregnancy check, cows should be a three. At calving, the optimum score is about a 2.5, but heifers should be at three because they’re still growing. The third check should be done about 30 days before the start of the breeding season and the score should be 2.5.
During early winter, feeding cows are under the least stress and their nutritional requirements are the lowest.
This is when a cow in good condition, three to 3.5, can have its diet adjusted to lose weight. But use caution because twice as much feed is needed to add one condition score to a thin cow than can be saved by reducing one condition score on a fat cow.
“Condition scoring is one of the cheapest and most overlooked management tools available and should be used more often,” said Holmgren.
– Alberta Agriculture