Phenotypic Estimation of Highly Productive and Healthy Dairy Cows

When breeding dairy cattle, evaluation of the animal by the exterior is of paramount importance, since the appearance of the animal and its internal properties are closely related to dairy products. Body condition scoring (BCS) is the most widely used method to assess changes in body fat reserves, which reflects its high potential to be included in on-farm welfare assessment protocols.

Body condition score is an important management tool. The condition of the cow shows if the ration meets the need of the animal. A cow that is fed according to its needs functions optimally. Health problems can be encountered by animals that are too fat (especially at the end of lactation) or too skinny animals (especially at the beginning of lactation). The first livestock farmers who created local livestock breeds by the method of folk selection drew attention to the relationship between the exterior and animal productivity.

The first breeders who created local breeds of livestock by the method of national selection drew attention to the relationship between the exteriors and the productivity of animals. One of the founders of the doctrine of the exteriors, the English cattle breeder R. Beckwell, who created the Shorthorn breed, in the 18th century put forward the idea of creating model animals with the ideal exterior for each direction of productivity. The ideas of Beckwell in Russia were developed by the domestic cattle breeder MG Livanov in the 19th century.

To determine a highly productive animal, the assessment of its exterior type is of great importance, since the shape and function of the body are closely related. Assessment of the exterior of cows, despite its well-known subjectivity and conventionality, occupies an important place in dairy cattle breeding. The glomerular assessment of animals on the exterior has been known since ancient times. It arose from the requests of practice and was the first attempt to give an economic assessment of animals in their appearance.