Body condition scoringBody condition scoring

Evaluating a cow herd’s body condition is a year-round job. “Winter is a good time to do it, so is spring, so is summer, so is fall.”

Clint Peck

January 13, 2025

3 Min Read
Beef cows
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Take home messages

  • Poor body condition is associated with reduced income per cow, increased postpartum interval, increased dystocia, and lower weaning weight. Higher body condition scores are associated with higher pregnancy rates.

  • Sorting cows by body condition so that all cows will calve with a mid-to-upper body condition score can maximize reproductive performance while holding supplemental feed costs to a minimum.

  • Dry matter intake is key to ensuring body condition doesn’t slip, especially as ranchers supplement before and during calving. Beef cattle typically need 2–3% of their body weight in dry matter daily.

There’s never a bad time to pay attention to the body condition of your cows. But, the months before calving and leading up to rebreeding are especially critical in ensuring your cows are in the best condition possible.

“Even as ranchers approach calving, they can assess their nutrition programs and adjust their feeding practices based on their environment, the type and age of their cows, and their budget for feed resources,” said ruminant nutritionist John Paterson, PhD, Bozeman, MT. “It’s a year-round thing and it’s never too late to plan for next year.”

Body condition scores (BCS) are numbers used to suggest a cow's relative fatness or body composition. To date, there is no standard system for describing body condition in beef cows. However, there are many resources available online and in print to help ranchers train their eyes on body condition and measure BCS.

Most published reports use a range of BSC 1 to 9, with a score of 1 representing very thin body condition and 9 extreme fatness.

Paterson advises keeping an especially close eye on BCS through calving and into rebreeding, and then maintaining a BCS log on individual animals or groups of cattle, depending on the size of the herd. These notes will help through the year as producers make decisions on feeding management as well as what cows they should keep in a herd after weaning, added Paterson.

He also says a rancher must maintain a trusted relationship with a ruminant nutritionist who’s familiar with their cows’ genetics, the rancher’s grazing management, and the availability of on-ranch feed

resources. Body condition scoring, when done by different people, will not always be the same, Paterson explained. “But it doesn’t take long for a rancher to sense what’s relative to their operation.”

"There are people around every ranching community that can be used as a resource. 'It’s a matter of finding the people who know what they’re talking about, and who have your best long-term interests in mind,' he added. 'By the way, winter is a good time to do it, so is spring, so is summer, so is fall.'"

One thing bovine nutritionists agree on is that cows in poor cow body condition will generally experience increased rates of dystocia, and calves may be delivered weak, even when the dam delivers unassisted. They also say cows with higher body condition scores can lose some condition without reducing performance.

Paterson concluded that especially in the winter, before calving, ranchers can help themselves by making sure their cows are getting enough dry matter so BCS doesn't slip. He said it’s important to know the dry matter content of feed supplements. For example, 35 lbs. of wet beet pulp only provides 3.5 lbs. of dry matter.

“The difference is water,” he explained. “Beef cattle typically need to consume 2–3% of their body weight in dry matter daily.”

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