THE EFFECT OF BODY CONDITION SCORE AND HIP HEIGHT ON BODY WEIGHT OF BEEF COWS
Helmondollar,* R.R.1; Rayburn,E.B.21Extension agent, West Virginia University, Elkins, WV, 26241
2Extension Specialist, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 26506
Abstract:
Feed cost is the largest expense in a beef cow calf enterprise. The efficient use of available feed resources is a key to maintaining a low cost production system. Cow weight is used to determine the allocation of feed resources for a given feeding period. The study evaluated the effect of Body Condition Score (BCS) and Hip Height (HH) on cow weight (CW). Body condition scores and hip heights were recorded on three hundred fourteen beef cows on seven different farms as part of this project. All cattle were off pasture and held in a lot until measurements were recorded. Cattle were not purposefully shrunk to an empty body weight. BCS averaged from 4.8 to 6.1 on the seven farms. HH averaged 47.8 to 52.8 inches and CW averaged 1075 to 1356 pounds on the same seven farms. A regression analysis was used to measure the effect of BCS and HH on CW (NCSS 2000). The regression analysis indicates an increase of one BCS was equal to 125 lbs of cow weight (non-shrunk) and an increase of one inch of hip height was equal to 60 lbs. of cow weight (non-shrunk). A regression equation for predicting CW from BCS and HH was created: Cow wt = -2672 +125*BCS +60*HH. This information will be useful as producers gain an understanding of how to allocate feed resources during specific times of the year.