Frame Score
A frame score calculator like the one below can help producers measure their cattle’s skeletal size. This information can help you determine an animal’s growth pattern, as well as its potential size as a mature adult.
How do you calculate cattle frame score?
To use the frame score calculator, you’ll need an animal’s hip height and age.
To collect hip height, put the animal in a chute, and make sure they’re standing up straight and their head isn’t turned. Then measure height, from the ground to directly over the hook bone (hip).
The Beef Improvement Federation produces equations to calculate frame score, based on these heights, how old the animals are, and whether it’s a bull or heifer.
What is considered the optimal frame score range for beef cattle?
Frame scores range from 1 to 10 and vary based on nutrition, sex, breed, and other factors. Typically, high-medium to large frames generate the most value on the market. However, there can be some drawbacks to having an animal at the highest end of the frame score scale (9-10). For example, they might mature slower or require higher feed costs.
What is the ideal body score for cattle?
An animal’s body condition score is similar, but not the same as a frame score. While a frame score calculator can measure the skeletal size of an animal, its BSC instead measures body composition: in other words, the fat and muscle over that frame.
Body condition scoring ranges from 1 (very thin) to 9 (very fat). Usually an animal with a body score of 6 or 7 displays smoother appearance, a healthy amount of fat, and better reproduction rates.
What are the frame scores for feeder cattle?
Feeder cattle frame scores, determined by the USDA, are small, medium, and large. These scores can help determine the market value for a specific animal. For example, larger-framed cattle often sell for higher prices than smaller-framed ones.
Feeder cattle should have a frame score between 5 and 7; these larger frames generally correlate with better growth potential, finishing periods, and slaughter weights.
Take a look at the frame score calculator above to start measuring your animals’ scores.
