Influence of some environmental factors on body condition score and somatic cell count in Czech Holstein cows

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine some environmental factors affecting body condition score (BCS) and somatic cell count (SCC) in Czech Holstein cows. A total of 278 primiparous cows were examined by BCS and SCC in four calving seasons, three years and six test days after calving. The results revealed no significant effect of calving season was found for both parameters. While year was not effective on SCC values, BCS mean of third year was significantly (P<0.05) high. Also, no significant effect of test day was determined on SCC, but BCS values elevated with later test days (P<0.05). Negative and significant relationships (P<0.01) were estimated among all consecutive change in BCS (CBCS) and positive associations (P<0.01) were determined among all logSCC groups. As the result, primiparous Czech Holstein cows should be managed by eliminating effective factors to obtain more productivity in dairy farms.