Associations of Body Condition Score at Calving, Parity, and Calving Season on the Performance of Dairy Cows and Their Offspring

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of body condition score (BCS) at calving, parity, and the calving season on the performance of dairy cows and their offspring. Data from 521 Holstein cows that calved a female calf and had their BCS evaluated at calving from a single commercial farm located in Southern Brazil were used. Cows were categorized into five BCS classes: class 1: <3.0 (n = 19), class 2: 3.0-3.25 (n = 134), class 3: 3.5-3.75 (n = 160), class 4: 4.0-4.25 (n = 142), and class 5: >4.25 (n = 66). Data were also categorized by calving order (primiparous and multiparous dams) and by calving season. The study was designed as a prospective cohort study. Variables with normal distribution were analyzed by the MIXED procedure of SAS, while binary outcomes were analyzed by the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS. Daughters from primiparous dams were born lighter (39.1 ± 0.42 vs. 41.4 ± 0.29 kg, p < 0.01), but they had the same weights as the daughters from multiparous cows at weaning (121.5 ± 1.67 vs. 120.4 ± 1.58 kg, p = 0.20). As expected, primiparous cows showed lower (p < 0.01) 305-day milk yields than multiparous ones: 8633 ± 363 vs. 10,761 ± 249 kg, respectively. Regarding the calving season, cows that calved in the winter were the most productive ones, and those that calved in the fall had lower milk yields (p = 0.01). Calves born in the winter were heavier at birth (p < 0.01), calved younger (p = 0.04), and produced more milk at first lactation (p = 0.03). The BCS class had an impact (p < 0.01) on calf birth weights; daughters from Class 1 cows (BCS < 3.0) were lighter (38.0 ± 1.0 kg) than the calves from Class 5 cows with a BCS > 4.25 (41.9 ± 0.57 kg). Calves from dams with a BCS < 3 (Class 1) had a 31.8% culling rate until weaning, while calves from cows with a BCS of 3.0-3.25 (Class 2) had a 9.6% culling rate (p = 0.12). These results suggest that maternal and environmental factors, such as calving season and parity, in addition to the dams' body condition score at calving, are associated with different offspring performances.