Body and Locomotion Scores for 900 Holstein Cows in Southern Brazil

900 lactating Holstein cows were evaluated quarterly over two years for body condition and locomotion scores by trained veterinarians. The dataset likely contains longitudinal records of these subjective health assessments from a semi-extensive breeding regime. A negative correlation (r=-0.57) was found between body condition score and locomotion score during the study period.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the correlation between body condition and locomotion scores based on the reported Pearson correlation coefficient.
• Studying the prevalence of locomotion difficulties in dairy herds based on the reported distribution of locomotion scores (LS1-LS5).
• Modeling longitudinal animal health data based on quarterly evaluations over a two-year period.
• Investigating the effects of semi-extensive feeding management on dairy cow welfare indicators.

Strengths

• Data collection involved 900 lactating cows, providing a substantial sample size.
• Evaluations were performed quarterly over two years, suggesting longitudinal depth.
• Data collection was standardized, performed by three trained veterinarians.
• Statistical analysis (Pearson correlation) was applied with a defined significance level (5%).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic and management bias inherent to a single property in southern Brazil.

Provenance

Source

Antônio Amaral Barbosa via paperswithcode.

Collection Method

Quarterly observational evaluations (locomotion score and body condition score) performed by veterinarians.

Time Range

Observations spanned two years (specific dates unknown).

Geography

A property located in the South of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.