This may be a strange question to ask, but read on and you will learn why I asked it. In preparing for breeding season, you now have all your replacement bulls, you may have been supplementing the cows with some form of protein or energy supplement, your cattle health plan is in place, and all you need now is for it to rain. I’ll ask the question again, are your cattle ready for the breeding season?
During this time of year, cattle are grazing the residue of last year’s forage along with some high moisture new growth, and they may be receiving some protein and/or energy supplement. In order to maintain a calving interval of one year, there are only about 80 days from the date of calving until she must conceive again. Are your first calf heifers and cows in condition to cycle and conceive early in the breeding season?
Have you looked critically at their body condition? Are your cattle fleshy (fat) or are they thin? There is a system used to evaluate body condition (fat cover) by visual appraisal or by handling the animal. The Body Condition Scoring System (BCS), used throughout the U.S., describes animals from I (very thin) to 9 (extremely fat). This system evaluates fat cover as a means of estimating the nutritional status of the animal. Typically, an animal with a BSC of 5-7 is considered in optimum condition. Unless fed to improve their BCS, thin females with BCS of less than 5 can be expected to cycle later during the breeding season and have a lower conception rate than those with a BSC of 5-7. Conversely, fat animals with BSC of 8-9 are not desirable because for a cow to be in this condition, she probably failed to produce a calf the year before, or she will have a low milk production potential.
To better visualize BSC’s, refer to the narrative description in Table I. and the three photos. Compare them with your cattle. This can be a useful tool to help manage your nutrition and health program. For example, are all your cattle BSC 5’s or do you have 3’s and 7’s? If you have a percentage of your first calf heifers or cows that are thin and you supplement them together with your cow herd, will they have an adequate opportunity to get the supplement? If a number of the cattle being supplemented are too "fat," why is this and why are you feeding them?
Space doesn’t allow for a detailed description of BCS’s and how to apply them in your management program, but I do have a number of sources of information on this subject. If you would like more details, contact me at 805.934.6240, and I will get this information to you.
Table 1. System of Body Condition Scoring (BCS) for Beef Cattle
| Group | BCS | Description |
| Thin Condition | 1 | Emaciated. Cow is extremely emaciated with no palpable fat detectable over spinous processes, transverse processes, hip bone or ribs. Tail-head and ribs project quite prominently. |
| 2 | Poor. Cow still appears somewhat emaciated, but tail-head and ribs are less prominent. Individual spinous processes are still rather sharp to the touch, but some tissue cover exists along the spine. | |
| Borderline Condition | 3 | Thin. Ribs are still individually identifiable, but not quite as sharp to the touch. There is obvious palpable fat along spine and over tail-head with some tissue cover over dorsal portion of ribs. |
| 4 | Borderline. Individual ribs are no longer visually obvious. The spinous processes can be identified individually on palpation but feel rounded rather than sharp. Some fat cover over ribs, transverse processes and hip bones. | |
| Optimum Moderate Condition | 5 | Moderate. Cow has generally good overall appearance. Upon palpation, fat cover over ribs feels spongy, and areas on either side of tail-head now have palpable fat cover. |
| 6 | High Moderate. Firm pressure now needs to be applied to feel spinous processes. A high degree of fat is palpable over ribs and around tail-head. | |
| 7 | Good. Cow appears fleshy and obviously carries considerable fat. Very spongy fat dover over ribs and around tail-head. In fact, "rounds" or "pones" beginning to be obvious. Some fat around vulva and in crotch. | |
| Fat Condition | 8 | Fat. Cow very fleshy and over-conditioned. Spinous processes almost impossible to palpate. Cow has large fat deposits over ribs, around tail-head and below vulva. "Rounds" or "pones" are obvious. |
| 9 | Extremely fat. Cow obviously extremely wasty and patchy and looks blocky. Tail-head and hips buried in fatty tissue and barely palpable. Animal's mobility may even be impaired by large fatty deposits. | |
Richards, M.W., J.C. Spitzer, and M.B. Warner. 1986. J. Anim. Sci. 62:300.
In prior issues of our newsletter I've discussed the general topic of water quality regulation as it applies to rangelands, and the need for producers to be informed and understand how they can voluntarily comply with the California Rangeland Water Quality Management Plan. As many of you know, UC Cooperative Extension and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service developed an educational program to accomplish this, known as the Ranch Water Quality Planning Short Course. This program has been offered in many counties throughout the state.
We held our first short course last August with ranchers attending who represented over 100,000 acres of grazing lands. We are now working with those who attended this series of meetings who want to complete their plans for voluntary compliance.
To update you on future plans, we again received another USDA EQIP educational assistance grant this year which enables us to offer another short course. The purpose of this article is to alert you that another program will be offered locally, and information on where and when will be announced early next year. If you are interested in attending, please let me know - 805.934.6240.