Investigation on body condition score, milk yield, reproductive performance, and health of dairy cows in four intensive dairy farms during lactation cycle.

Abstract

Study objective: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of body condition score (BCS) on the milk yield, reproductive performance, and health status of lactating dairy cows.

Methods: Data were collected from 1,960 cows across four dairy farms at 21 days prepartum, on the day of calving, and at 21, 50, 150, 200, and 250 days postpartum.

Results: The results demonstrated significant differences in BCS, milk yield, reproductive performance, and disease incidence among cows from different dairy farms.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that the ideal BCS for cows at 21 days prepartum and on the day of calving is 3.5, while BCS of 3.25 is optimal for cows at 21 days postpartum, and BCS of 3.0 is recommended for cows from 50 to 250 days postpartum.