Body Condition Scoring

Garth Pig Stockmanship Standards

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Body Condition Scoring
Score Number	Condition	Description	Shape of body
5	Overfat	Hips and backbone heavily covered	Bulbous
4	Fat	Hips and backbone cannot be felt	Tending to bulge
3.5	Good condition	Hips and backbone only felt with difficulty	Tube shape
3	Normal	Hips and backbone only felt with firm palm pressure	Tube shaped
2.5	Somewhat thin	Hips and backbone felt without palm pressure	Tube shaped but flat (slab) sides
2	Thin	Hips and backbone noticeable and easily felt	Ribs and spine can be felt
1	Emaciated	Hips and backbone visible	Bone structure apparent (ribs and backbone)
Condition scores from left to right, 1: 2: 3: 4: 5 From: Managing Pig Health and the Treatment of Disease

Back fat meter may be more useful. However, note condition score and back fat correlation differs between different breeds

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Extracted from Garth Pig Stockmanship Standards*
written by Dr John Carr.

You can buy this book HERE
*Published by 5M Enterprises Limited