by Amanda Smith, Associate Editor
Lameness is an animal welfare issue, and a lame cow will not get better on its own. "When lameness is detected, we need to have an immediate treatment plan in place for that cow," noted veterinarian Gerard Cramer with the University of Minnesota.
"Lameness in early lactation becomes a chicken or the egg question," noted Cramer. "Did a loss of body condition early on lead to lameness, or did lameness cause the cow to lose excessive condition?" he continued.
The issue isn't isolated; lameness is a problem worldwide. Across North America, the prevalence, on average, varied from 25 percent to 55 percent on U.S. and Canadian farms. In Europe, prevalence ranged from 17 percent in the Netherlands to 37 percent in the United Kingdom. In most studies, the prevalence of hoof lesions is typically above 40 percent. Infectious lesions, such as digital dermatitis, are most common.
"The ligaments in the hoof are impacted by the same hormones that loosen ligaments for calving," noted Cramer. While nutrition plays a role in lameness, it is not at the top of the causation list; more often than not, it's tied to transition cow disease.
Transition cows utilize body fat stores, and oftentimes that includes the fat in the hoof. The thickness of a cow's digital cushion often follows the body condition curve. The odds of a cow having a claw horn lesion are 3.4 times higher if it has a thin digital cushion.
Digital cushion thickness at dry-off is also predictive of future lesions. In one study, cows with a thicker cushion came through the dry period with no perceptible lesion, while those with a thinner initial cushion were more likely to have sole ulcers or white line disease.
Standing time also factors into a cow's lameness risk. Work done by the University of British Columbia found that cows with lesions stood and perched in stalls more often during the transition period.
"Lesions are multifactorial," noted Cramer. "Body condition score losses, disease status, standing time and previous hoof health combine to impact our herd's hoof health status."
(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2015
January 5, 2015
