by Kindra Gordon

With the spring calving season around the corner, it’s time to get the calving book ready for recording calving dates, birth weights, etc. But you might consider adding an extra column to the data you collect this year – teat and udder scores for the cow.

Sure, you’ve likely tracked those cows with “bad bags” in the past and culled them after weaning. However, because most udder and teat characteristics appear to be heritable, seedstock producers are being encouraged to score teat size and udders for the entire herd and use the information in future selection decisions.

The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF), which is made up of beef producers, breed association representatives and university researchers, is leading this charge. In June 2007, the BIF Board adopted guidelines to standardize future teat and udder scoring.

Scoring from 1 to 9
Udder and teat size can directly affect calf performance and cow longevity, and therefore more emphasis is being placed on monitoring this trait, explains Lauren Hyde who serves on the subcommittee that proposed the standardized guidelines for BIF. Hyde is director of performance programs for the North American Limousin Foundation.

Also serving on the BIF subcommittee are Mark Allan, US Meat Animal Research Center; Susan Knights- illmon, American Gelbvieh Association; and Sean McGrath, who works as an independent consultant with several Canadian breed associations.

In the past, various teat and udder scoring systems were being used by different breed associations. The newly approved BIF scoring system has two separate scores for teat size and udder suspension on a scale of 1- to-9 using the following guidelines:
• For teat size, 1 would indicate big, bottle teats, while higher scores would be for small teats.
• For udder suspension, a 1 would indicate a pendulous udder, with a 9 being a higher, tighter udder, according to Hyde.
• Scores must be established within 24 hours after calving, preferably on the weakest quarter. This is because if the cow is going to have udder quality issues, they will be most apparent when she first freshens.
• Cow age should not be considered when scoring udders.
• Teats and udders should be scored without regard to the cow’s milk production – as calf weaning weights are the best estimates of milk production.
• To ensure consistent scoring, it is also recommended that scores be conducted by one person for the entire herd, Hyde says.

The ideal udder would have a score in the middle of that 1 to 9 range with quarters that are evenly balanced and snugly attached, and teats of medium size and moderate length.

Cows with teats that are too small may have reduced milk flow to the calf. Teats that are too large may make it difficult for the calf to nurse. And, if a cow’s udder is too large, there is an increased chance for injury or mastitis and a deterioration of udder quality over time.

Hyde recognizes that teat and udder scoring has not been commonplace across the beef industry. Of those who do score, she says, “I think they use it mainly as a culling criterion rather than for selection.”

But, as collection of teat and udder data increases, it is anticipated it will become more of a selection tool in the future to seek out sires that produce daughters with good udders.

Editor’s Note: If you would like to view a graphic of the udder suspension and teat size chart, visit www.beefimprovement.org/library.html  and click on Udder and Teat Scoring Information.