By Abigail Johnson, Reganne Briggs, and Chad Page | November 21, 2024

Body Condition Scoring for Sheep

 A flock of sheep.

Livestock producers continually monitor the body composition of their animals due to its impact on production parameters like growth, immune function, or reproduction (Dickinson et al., 2019). If livestock are too skinny or too fat, this can affect performance; however, when livestock animals are in an ideal condition, this benefits production traits. To assess livestock body condition, producers can use their animals’ weights from a scale or muscle and fat measurements via ultrasound, but many producers may not have easy access to these tools. A commonly used method to evaluate condition is body condition scoring (BCS). The BCS system is similar to the body mass index (BMI) often used for humans. BCS estimates an animal’s body fat, muscle cover, and body energy stores.

Accurately determining BCS in sheep through visual observation alone may be difficult when wool breeds are in full fleece or have increased staple length. This can make BCS inaccurate. To obtain a more accurate score, you can either use BCS after shearing or use your hands rather than relying on visually inspecting the sheep. When keeping BCS records of an individual sheep or the entire flock, be as accurate as possible. Changes in body condition can alert you to health problems in individual sheep or the entire flock. It can also tell you if the flock’s nutritional needs are being met. During different production cycles, nutrition levels will vary, and body conditions will reflect that.

Body Condition Score System

For every livestock species, there is a scale and method for assigning body condition scores. The scale used for sheep is from 1 to 5 (Table 1). A score of 1 is emaciated and a condition score of 5 is obese (Thompson & Meyer, 1994). A score of 3 means average condition, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that you want sheep to always score 3. Typically, 90% of the flock should have a BCS ranging from 2 to 4 (Thompson & Meyer, 1994). Half-scores can be used for scores between 2 and 4 to increase accuracy and note variation between animals (e.g., 2.5, 3, 3.5, etc.).

Table 1. Body Condition Scale for Sheep

Score Spinous processes Transverse processes General condition
1 Prominent and sharp. Fingers can pass easily under the ends of the transverse processes. Each sharp process can be felt. Very thin
2 Prominent and smooth, with individual processes detected as line of fine corrugation. Fingers can pass under the ends of the transverse processes with light pressure. Thin
3 Smooth and rounded, detected as small elevations with individual processes felt with pressure. The transverse processes are smooth and well covered. Firm pressure is required to feel the ends. Good
4 Detected with pressure as a hard line between muscling covered with fat. The ends of the transverse processes cannot be felt. Fat
5 Depression between the fat layers on the spinous line. Even with pressure, ends of the transverse processes cannot be felt. Very fat

Source: Adapted from Thompson & Meyer, 1994


Sheep standing behind a fence

Determining Body Condition Score

Determining BCS in sheep often requires a hands-on approach in which you feel across different anatomical features of the sheep. Determining the score using the spinous processes, you feel the top of the lumbar vertebrae from the last rib to the hip bone. The transverse processes (on the lumbar vertebrae) are horizontal, pointing out to the sheep’s sides. Figure 2 provides a visual reference of the processes.


Sheep standing behind a fence

Figure 2. Illustration of Body Condition Scoring Sheep
Source: Thompson & Meyer, 1994

Since this is a subjective measurement, comparing the processes to different parts of your hand can help you determine the score and calibrate your hand to the amount of flesh you feel. South Dakota State Extension created the Sheep Body Condition Score Barn Reference, a guide to using your hand for determining BCS of sheep (Quintana et al., 2021). This reference is summarized in Table 2. A score of 1 will feel like the top of your fingertips, while a score of 2 feels like the top of your knuckles when you make a fist. A sheep is considered to score 3 when the processes feel like the top of your knuckles with your hand opened and slightly curved. Score 4 will feel like the back of your hand when it is flat. Finally, a score of 5 feels like the bottom of your palm.

Table 2. Estimating Body Condition Score Using Your Hand as a Reference

Body condition score Description
1 Spinous process feels like the top of fingertips with the spine feeling sharp and each vertebra very pronounced.
2 Spinous process feels like the top of knuckles of a closed fist. The vertebrae can be felt, but fat and muscle are present.
3 Spinous process feels like the knuckles of a hand with slightly curved fingers. The vertebrae can be felt, but fat and muscle are beginning to fill each side of the spine.
4 Spinous process feels like the back of a hand. The spine is not as prominent as muscle and fat fills in.
5 Spinous process feels like the meaty bottom part of a palm. Fat deposits are starting to peak above the spine, leaving a dip over the spine.

Source: Adapted from Quintana et al., 2021

When to Use Body Condition Scoring

Some helpful times to score ewes are right before breeding, early to mid gestation, before lambing, and at weaning. Doing so will help you know how to feed, if you need to separate ewes from others, and estimate how they are going to perform. Recommended scores before breeding for higher ovulation rates are less than 3 if producers plan to flush their ewes. Flushing is the process of increasing the plane of nutrition before breeding. Flushing will gradually increase BCS to an ideal score of 3 or 3.5. Scores above 4 have an increased chance of the ewe not having a lamb (Thompson & Meyer, 1994). During gestation, BCS should gradually increase to a score of 3 or higher at the time of lambing. Oregon State University conducted two research trials in which they found that ewe BCS at lambing affected the lamb’s weight at weaning (Thompson & Meyer, 1994). In these studies, ewes with a BCS of 3 to 4 at lambing lost fewer offspring and weaned more pounds that ewes with a score of 2.5 or less (Thompson & Meyer, 1994). An ideal BCS or a ewe with a single lamb is 3 to 3.5. However, when a ewe has twins, she’ll need more energy and fat, so the score should be between 3.5 and 4. A couple of months later, when the lambs are weaned, a ewe BCS score of 2 or higher is common.

Rams, on the other hand, really only need to be scored when preparing for the breeding season. Ideally, they should have a score of 3 to 3.5 entering the season. This would be one aspect of the physical evaluation of a ram’s breeding soundness exams (BSE) performed before breeding (Pezzanite, et al., n.d.).

What to Do After Scoring

After you have recorded your flock’s body condition, you can now feed and supplement according to the scores. Separating the sheep with different scores can be beneficial if you are feeding them with specific goals in mind. After assessing BCS around breeding at mid-gestation, you can make management decisions to increase or decrease feed quality or quantity. When it comes to the scores during lambing, if the ewe is in good body condition, she won’t need any additional supplementation. If the ewe is below the optimal scores, separate her from the other ewes and provide extra feed. At weaning, if the ewes are fat, put them in a “fat” group and provide them lower-quality feed. If the ewes are thin, separate them and make sure they are getting a higher-quality diet. This will prepare both groups for the next stage of production (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, 2024).

Conclusion

Body condition scoring is a vital tool for sheep producers to ensure optimal flock health, reproduction, and productivity. It involves subjectively assessing the amount of fat and muscle on each sheep. This information may help guide management decisions around feeding or supplementation. Regular scoring allows farmers to detect and address health issues early, contributing to better overall management.

References

USU Extension Peer Reviewed
November 2024
Utah State University Extension
Peer-reviewed fact sheet

Suggested citation: Johnson, A., Briggs, R., & Page, C. (2024). Body condition scoring of sheep [Fact sheet]. Utah State University Extension.

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Authors

Abigail Johnson, Reganne Briggs, and Chad Page

Reganne Briggs

Reganne Briggs

Extension Assistant Professor | Agriculture, Natural Resources, 4-H | Rich County Director

Agriculture and Natural Resources

Phone: 435-793-2435
Office Location: Rich County
Chad Page

Chad Page

Sheep and Goat Specialist

Animal Dairy & Veterinary Sciences

Phone: 435-797-2154
Office Location: Logan Campus | AGRS 234

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