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The most critical time for body condition score (BCS) is just before the start of the breeding season, as this has the biggest single effect on breeding performance.
The target then is for the herd to have an average BCS of 2.9 with the range between 2.75 and 3.25. So we need to work back from this to decide what BCS the herd should be at now.
Cows should never lose more than half a score after calving and ideally not more than a quarter of a score. So this means they should be between BCS 3 and 3.25 at calving.
There are 10 weeks between now and 1 February, which isn’t much time to gain BCS.
Therefore, thin cows that are calving in early February should be dried off now to ensure they are in the right range next spring.
BCS the whole herd now and dry off cows that are below 2.75 and calving in February.
How much condition they put on over the winter depends on silage quality and the length of the dry period.
Silage quality on farms appears pretty good in general, but get it tested to be sure. The table below shows how long cows need to be dry depending on their BCS and silage quality.
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