What are the traits that are evaluated in the Linear Appearance of Dairy Cow Body Type?

The Linear Appearance of Dairy Cow Body Conditioning method usually divides the traits evaluated into 3 categories: primary, secondary and management traits, based on the extent to which they play a role in cow production, economic efficiency and performance.

Primary traits are those that have a high economic value, a wide range of variation and can be used as selection targets. There are generally 15 traits, i.e., body height, body strength (chest width), body depth, lactation (fluting), coccygeal angle, coccygeal width, hindquarter lateral view, hoof angle, anterior attachment, posterior height, posterior width, udder overhang (suspensory ligament), udder depth, nipple length, and teat looking back (nipple position). These traits are required to be rated for linear assessment of body type appearance.

Secondary traits are those traits that are used to be employed in a trial or study to obtain more information for judgment. There are 14 of them and they are relative height of forequarters, shoulder, back, root of tail, angle of pubic gate, stepping position of hind limbs, hind limb hind look, tethering, hoof tip, sensitivity of movement, length of foregut, udder proportionality, lateral look of teats, and length of coccyx. These traits may or may not be rated during the linear rating of body appearance.

Management traits are traits that are closely related to production management, mechanized milking and the longevity of the cow itself. They are divided into primary and secondary management traits. There are four primary management traits, namely behavior and temperament, milking speed, mastitis resistance, and reproductive performance; and three secondary management traits, namely udder swelling, health status, and calving ease. These traits can be included for understanding and reference when rating.