Body condition scores in Israeli-Holstein cows to quantify interactions between nutrition and genotype

This investigation aimed at to analyse systematic influences on body condition scores (BCS) in Israeli-Holstein cows. Five kibbutz herds in Israel were selected for the study. The production units were situated in the coastal region of the Mediterranean. Milk production of cows was about 11,000 kg of milk in all herds with a fat content of 3.21% and a protein content of 2.87%. Herd size varied between 251 and 374 cows. The data recording began in October 1994 and ended in July 1995. Altogether, 770 cows of the Israeli-Holstein breed were included in the study. At 14-day-intervals condition scores on a scale of 1 to 5 with 0.25 increments judged at lumbar region, ischial and ileal tuberosities as well as the tail head region were recorded. Employing LSQ-models significant systematic effects on body condition scores showed kibbutz, lactation number, calving season and stage of lactation. The additive genetic influence of the sire on body condition scores was significant. The sire's influence on postpartum loss of condition and the subsequent gain was significant, the estimated heritabilities for condition loss being between 26% and 32%, for condition gain between 13% and 19%. Differences among cows in body condition scores may be explained to some extent by additive genetic effects what should be taken into account in recommendations for sire selection.