Weight necessary to change body condition scores in Angus cow

Weights and body condition scores (BCS) were measured and assessed on Angus females (n = 367) over 14 yr (1981 to 1994) to allow calculation of weight adjustments for different BCS. Data were collected at five time periods: prepartum, postpartum, prebreeding, postbreeding, and midgestation. Individual cows with multiple records were included in the analysis as repeated measures to yield 3,912 total observations. Body condition score was assigned on a scale of 1 = emaciated to 9 = obese. Only BCS 2 through 8 were analyzed, as there were zero recorded observations of BCS 1 or 9. The final model included age and the time period by BCS interaction as fixed effects. Year by animal within age interaction and a residual error term were treated as random effects. Animal was included to correct for repeated measures across time periods and years for individual animals. All these effects were significant (P < 0.0001). Weight adjustments for BCS were calculated for each time period. Cow weight and weight adjustments for BCS were not consistent for each time period. Overall weight adjustments to adjust cows to BCS of 5 were (kg +/- SEM) BCS = 2 (68 +/- 12), BCS = 3 (50 +/- 4), BCS = 4 (21 +/- 1), BCS = 5 (0), BCS = 6(-24 +/- 2), BCS = 7(-51 +/- 3), and BCS = 8 (-73 +/- 7).