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Bayer has introduced BCS SowDition, a new smartphone application to help swine farmers to easily and accurately score the body condition of sow herds. The results are tracked and can be analyzed, enabling farmers to make better and more timely management decisions.
Body condition scoring (BCS) of sows is a commonly practiced and accepted indicator of health, well-being and fertility. But farmers have long faced the challenge of objectively and accurately scoring entire herds. With BCS SowDition, visual subjectivity of body condition scoring is minimized with a simple photo-and-line fit system, allowing for accurate and standardized assessment of individual sows.
“Body condition scoring is an important aspect of good sow health and management. It enables farmers to ensure appropriate feeding and nutrition. Objective scoring of an entire herd visually can be a challenge. BCS SowDition is timely and I believe that it will help farmers make better management decisions with less time and effort, and contribute to swine health and farm productivity,” said Dr. KyungWon Lee, swine veterinary practitioner with Smart Pig Clinic in South Korea.
“There is no question that body condition scoring is important for sow health and management, as well as success of a farm. When assessing a sow’s body condition, there are two extremes – fat or thin. The challenge is determining the intermediate points objectively to achieve an optimal herd score. BCS SowDition is an easy tool to use. It provides a good orientation for evaluation, scoring and tracking. This will help me to better manage my sow herd and provide the right conditions for them to thrive,” added Dr. Luisa Álvarez, supervisor at FRISA Farms, PAF Group in Guatemala.
“Maintaining optimal sow body condition is a vital part of good herd health, well-being and management. Through BCS SowDition, we optimize mobile technology to offer farmers a practical tool that enables them to easily achieve accurate body condition scoring of sows and to adjust management practices as needed. More informed management decisions benefit pig health and well-being, as well as the farm,” said Octavio Orlovsky Eckhardt, Head of Species Marketing Swine at Animal Health, Bayer.
About BCS SowDition
Bayer’s BCS SowDition smartphone application is a novel and simple way to objectively measure and track the body condition of sows, helping farmers and veterinarians to ensure optimal herd management and care. Body condition scoring (BCS) is an important indicator of sow health, well-being and fertility. Data can be easily be incorporated with the farm management software and shared with a veterinarian for consultation. BCS SowDition is available free-for-download on the AppStore and GooglePlay in 17 languages. More information at: http://go.bayer.com/sowdition
About Body Condition Scoring
Visual scoring of animals’ body condition is a traditional and widespread practice in different fields of livestock farming, from dairy cattle to female swine breeders. The scoring comprises a series of visual evaluations associated with finger or hand pressure at specific body areas (such as the pelvis), in order to determine fat deposits in these animals. Sows are classified according to a score range, traditionally 1 to 5, with 1 being a thin sow and 5 an overweight sow. Maintaining proper body condition is an important part of good sow management as it is directly linked with its health, well-being and performance. Visual determination of body condition scores can be subjective and therefore the value and reliability of such scoring deeply relies on the stockman’s experience.
December 10, 2018 – Bayer
