Relationship between the body condition and the appearance parameters of Holstein-Friesian cows

Abstract

The body condition has been part of the livestock judgment in Hungary since 2007. This date can be called relatively late, because in Ireland and Britain body condition scoring has been part of the conformation judging system of Holstein-Friesian cows since 1996. In our study we analysed the mean of linear characteristics within lactations, and compared the results to the ideal values of each characteristic. We also analysed the correlation between body condition and linear type traits. The results of the relationship between the body condition and the linear descriptive characteristics in case of body measurement are weak (r=0.09), or medium (r=0.29) and except for the angularity (between r=-0.39 and r=-0.50) they are positive. When analysing the main functional areas, we also compared the difference among the scores of the lactations. We investigated the relationship between the body condition and the main functional types. Overall we founded that the increase in the number of lactations as well as the improving body condition had a positive effect on the body score. When investigating the relationship between the body condition and the dairy strength a negative correlation was found between these two attributes.