ly lactation commonly known as cows milking off their
backs. Higher genetic merit cows have higher peak milk
yields and therefore a larger negative energy balance
during early lactation. It is for this reason that cows
should be in good condition when calving down preventing them using all their body reserves at peak production as this could lead to poor reproductive performance or metabolic disorders.
(a)
b)
Figure 1. The change in (a) live weight and (b) body condition score over the lactation period for Holstein
cows in different lactations based on monthly recordings
The body condition of cows should be improved during
the late lactation stage as the conversion of feed energy to fatty reserves in the body is more efficient in the
late lactation stage in comparison to the dry period, i.e.
65% vs. 48%. This means that cows in a poor condition
should receive more concentrates per day or a concentrate containing higher levels of grain or fat. The body
condition of cows should be about 3.0 to 3.5 (from a
possible 5.0). Cows being dried off at a condition score
higher than 3.5 should be fed a smaller amount of concentrates per day during the dry period to prevent
them for becoming overfat. Anecdotal data in KwaZulu
-Natal showed that a one condition score change resulted in a live weight change of about 45 kg. However, differences were found between first lactation cows
and older cows. Some cows may lose up to 90 kg in
live weight in early lactation while each kg live weight
loss may account for 5-6 kg of milk. It is for this reason
that cows should be in a good condition when they
calve down.
Condition scoring technique
Presently there are a number of methods to determine
the amount of fat reserves on the body of dairy cattle.
It usually consists of an arbitrary scale in which the
amount of fatty reserves underneath the skin at the tail
head and loin area is estimated. The most common
system being used in South Africa was developed at
the British National Institute for Dairying at Reading in
the early 1970s.
For each score a specific definition for the tail head and
loin area is provided and scoring should be done by