Body condition and lameness scores of Oklahoma State University dairy cows over time
Abstract
In this study the body condition scores (BCS), lameness scores, and milk production (factors) of 16 Jersey and 16 Holstein cows from the Oklahoma State University (OSU) dairy herd were recorded to reveal patterns over a span of several months. The milk production factors included: lactation number, days in milk (DIM), milk production, fat %, protein %. Data were collected 4 times across 3 months using a standard BCS and lameness scoring scale. The objective of this project was to assess the cows' lameness and body conditions to see how it related to their milk production. The study showed that the Jerseys had generally higher BCSs than were ideal, and the Holsteins had generally lower BCSs than were ideal. Lameness scores of both breeds were well below industry benchmarks with only 3 instances of lameness throughout the entire study. The relationships between BCS, lameness, and milk production factors generally did not follow the same patterns found in other similar studies, although there were a few differences that could be explained by the sample size studied and by the breed types.