Lameness

Lameness is one of the three most important issues in dairy herds. Not only does it compromise welfare but there is a significant cost associated with lame cows, including:

· Compromised welfare

· Reduced productivity

· Costs – both direct and indirect

To combat this, we offer:

Total Hoof Care – a partnership between Torch Farm Vets, Penbode Farm Vets and local hoof trimming expert David Rowe, aiming to prevent lameness through a combination of preventative foot trimming, mobility scoring and on farm assessment of lameness risks.

Mobility Scoring – our VetTechs are trained to assess cows walking one by one across a hard non-slip surface and then score them from zero to three. This should be done as regularly as possible, once a month being a good period, to allow early identification and therefore treatment. Records are also useful to assess prevalence of lame cows within a herd.

Acute lameness in individual cows – vets will lift up the feet and look for lesions. The lesion type and distribution is important for an accurate diagnosis and therefore allows for successful treatment and management strategies to be put in place. It is important to recognise why your cows are lame to allow future cases to be prevented.

Lameness investigations – there are multiple causes of lameness on farm:

· Infectious eg digital dermatitis, foul in the foot, slurry heel

· Non-infectious eg sole ulcers, white line disease

There are also a number of aspects of the managing cattle which can contribute to lameness:

· Environment – cubicle design, floors, walkways, farm tracks, tight corners, bedding, standing times in parlours

· Quarantine protocol – bought in livestock

· Footbathing – active ingredient, concentration, design, frequency of use

· Nutrition