Abstract

Body condition scoring (BCS) is a traditional visual technique often using a five-point scale to non-invasively assess fat reserves in cattle. However, recent studies have highlighted the potential in automating body condition scoring using imaging technology. Therefore, the objective was to implement a commercially available automated body condition scoring (ABCS) camera system to collect data for developing a predictive equation of body condition dynamics throughout the lactation period. Holstein cows (n = 2343, parity = 2.1 ± 1.1, calving BCS = 3.42 ± 0.24), up to 300 days in milk (DIM), were scored daily using two ABCS cameras mounted on sort-gates at the milk parlor exits. Scores were reported on a 1 to 5 scale in 0.1 increments. Lactation number, DIM, disease status, and 305d-predicted-milk-yield (305PMY) were used to create a multivariate prediction model for body condition scores throughout lactation. The equation derived from the model was: ABCSijk = 1.4838 − 0.00452 × DIMi − 0.03851 × Lactation numberj + 0.5970 × Calving ABCSk + 0.02998 × Disease Status(neg)l − 1.52 × 10−6 × 305PMYm + eijklm. We identified factors which are significant for predicting the BCS curve during lactation. These could be used to monitor deviations or benchmark ABCS in lactating dairy cows. The advantage of BCS automation is that it may provide objective, frequent, and accurate BCS with a higher degree of sensitivity compared with more sporadic and subjective manual BCS. Applying ABCS technology in future studies on commercial dairies may assist in providing improved dairy management protocols based on more available BCS.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-28-2022

Notes/Citation Information

Published in Animals, v. 12, issue 5, 601.

© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12050601

Funding Information

This research was funded by DeLaval International AB (Tumba, Sweden), on a research partnership with the University of Kentucky (Grant # 3048113318).

Related Content

The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

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