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There are a large number of factors Contributing to lame ness in cattle. These can be broken down into environmental, management, animal and foot factors, with the physiological effects of partuition suggested to be a major factor affecting lame ness development.

 

One of the most important external factors is the time of year, the number of cases being greater in winter than in summer most likely reflecting the fact that most cows are Housed in the winter. Wet weather conditions are also conducive to Maintaining high bacterial levels. Lame Ness in grazing cattle tends to increase about three weeks after heavy rainfall.

 

Farm factors associated with lame ness herd size include: veterinary practitioners saw proportionally fewer cases of foul-in-the-foot but more cases of sole ulcer in larger than in smaller herds.

 

About Crowding, especially of first calved Heifer, leads to reduced lying times and increased lame ness. Stockman Ship is important, as farmers who know more about lame ness or who have been trained tend to have lower overall prevalence of lame ness in their herds than untrained herdsmen. Housing is a very important factor. The overall incidence of lesions was lower in straw yards (0.71 cases/100 cows / month) than in cubicles with yards (0.93 cases/100 cows / month) in a study, with claw disorders less frequently in cows at pasture and in straw yards when compared to those in another study on slats. The difference is thought to be Largely due to longer lying times in straw yards. Cattle at pasture tend to lie down for longer periods than those in cubicles. This is thought to be beneficial. Straw yards also reduce the exposure to bacteria causing digital dermatitis.Cubicle lying surface can affect lame ness incidence, with sand bedded cubicles associated with less lame ness.

 

The floor surface is another important factor. Sand floors and rubber mats have been shown to allow the best gait from dairy cows, with slatted floors being slightly worse for lame cows. For finishing beef animals, over-wintering outdoors was shown to reduce the incidence of white line disease compared to animals Housed indoors on slats.

 

Manure management and prevention of prolonged contact between slurry and feet is important as a preventive measure to control lame ness. Feed input has an important role to play in lame ness associated with lesions of hoof horn and laminitis, both in terms of macro nutrient balance and trace element supply.

 

Sudden changes from a low plane of energy pre-calving to a high plane of energy after calving may predispose to lame ness. Additionally, laminitis is often associated with sub-acute ruminal acidosis due to imbalances in forage and concentrate intake.

 

Although décisive evidence for a pathogenic role of endotoxins and carbohydrate overload laminitis in development is scarce, ruminal function should be optimal to prevent lame ness. Much recent work has also looked at the effects of biotin on hoof horn development and subsequent lame ness incidence. A review of the literature suggested that there is evidence that supplementation with biotin or lame cows ness does reduce risk, although it should be remembered that biotin is not a panacea, and the prevention of lame ness should be based around good husbandry principles.

 

Routine foot trimming and conformation of the foot affect lame ness incidence.

 

There are differences between breeds in claw score traits for certain foot conditions. Ayrshires and Jerseys had better scores than other breeds. The Brown Swiss had the worst scores for corkscrew claws, laminitis and sole ulcers. White line score was worst in Guernsey and many erosion and digital dermatitis were worst in Friesians. There is evidence that Jerseys tend have harder feet and less lame ness. It has also been suggested that heavier cows are more prone to clinical lame ness.

 

Claw color has also been implicated in lame ness, with cattle with less pigmented feet being more prone to lame ness. The Heritability of clinical lame ness in dairy cows from 24 herds was estimated as 0.10 and 0.22 using linear and threshold model analysis respectivel. Research reports that a cow with a sole ulcer in one lactation was more likely to have one in a subsequent lactation.

 

Age is also important with regard to lame ness. An initial peak in lame ness occurs in young first calving Heifer. There appears to be a marked reduction in horn growth in late-pregnant Heifer, making them more prone to bruising and haemorrhages when Housed on concrete floors. The reduced growth leads to softer horn formation, causing a weak ning and possible separation at the white line and predisposing to mechanical bruising of the underlying sensitive corium.

 

First Heifer calving may be at particular risk of developing horn lesions due to sub clinical laminitis and these animals should be carefully managed as additional stress on the foot in the periparturient period may increase risk lame ness. Older cows are mainly affected between five and eight years old.

 

There is evidence that low dominance-ranked cows spend less time lying down than high-ranking animals, leading to higher risks lame ness. Many foot lesions are also related to the early post-calving period. At and around calving, cows are immunosuppressed and may have an increased standing time which may predispose to foot lesions and lame ness, therefore special care should be given to newly calved cows.

Lame Ness of cattle, especially in dairy herds remains a significant challenge to animal welfare in modern production systems. It also has serious effects on dairy herd production in terms of affecting fertility and milk production parameters, with lame cows taking longer to get back in calf and requiring a greater number of services, being more likely to suffer from mastitis and milk fever and having a reduction in milk yield. Lame Ness remains one of the major reasons for forced culling in dairy herds.

 

Reducing the incidence of lame ness in cattle should be seen as a high priority and lame ness prevention should be an integral part of any farm's herd health plan, in association with the veterinary surgeon.

 

Currently in the UK, the incidence of diseases of major significance are lame ness and digital dermatitis, white line disease and horn disease, including solar ulceration.

Assessment of gait abnormalities or for cows lame ness may best be done if after milking in a dairy herd, as there is some evidence to suggest that this will more accurately ascertain the gait.

 

About 90% of lame ness involves the foot, with leg injuries being far less common. Foot problems are most often seen in the outer digit of the hind feet as these are the main weight bearing areas.

 

Lame Ness lesions can be classified into four main categories: horn, skin, joint and leg problems. Below they are discussed with a separate link to every lesion:

 

Horn Diseases:Laminitis, Sole ulcer, White line abscess, Slurrywhole

 

Skin Diseases: Digital dermatitis, Foul-in-the-foot

 

Joint Diseases: Septic Arthritis, Joint-Ill

 

Leg Injuries: Hock Damage Carpal and Hygromas

Any attempts to control and prevent lame-ness on farm must consider the accuracy of detection and recording used lame ness. The costs of monitoring need to be weighed against the costs of intervention. However, impact assessment or any lame ness strategy needs to be under control functions as part of a thorough herd health plan. This should include information obtained from the vet, the farmer and the foot trimmer if used.

 

One of the major reasons for increased lame ness in herds is reduced lying time. Cows lie down in straw yards longer, and they are better than many for lying in cubicles. The cows have also ruminate more and improved digestion. Stress due to social status was also reduced in straw yards. Even if animals are not all lactation Housed in straw yards, it is often useful to place cows into a yard for the first part of lactation. Straw yards are excellent for wintering beef suckler cows and their followers.

 

If cubicles are to be used they should be designed correctly, so they do not cause injury and do provide cow comfort. Over Crowding should be avoided by each cow Allowing access to at least one cubicle, cubicles can be extra helpful and at least a 5% surplus of cubicles for the number of cows will reduce the risk of being less dominant cows cullied out of cubicles. Cubicle bases should be kept clean and dry out slurry by scraping at least twice a day and renewing the bedding material as necessary. If possible, mats or mattresses should be fitted, as they will improve comfort cubicle.

 

If at all possible, Heifer should be kept as a separate group during the first lactation, to eliminate bullying by older animals. This will reduce problems with their lame ness. Ideally, they should be kept in a straw yard during the first lactation, or at least for the first three months of lactation and until after they are pregnant.

 

Ensure cows are not hurried when walking to and from pastures. They should not walk for more than 0.5 km on concrete or tar macadam surfaces. Where possible, special cow tracks should be constructed. Passage Ways must be wide enough (2.7 - 3 meters) and kept clean. Scrape out passages regularly and Ensure buildings are well ventilated to reduce water pooling. Repair any areas where slurry pooling occurs. Cows should also have enough space at feed barriers (at least 60cms per cow) to avoid excess standing.

Floor surfaces must not be too smooth nor too rough.

 

Concrete surfaces must be cleaned regularly, as both slurry and silage effluent cause erosion. New concrete surfaces must be well washed before use to remove all the excess surface alkali. Slatted floors can cause lame ness in cattle due to injuries if the slats are incorrectly fitted or poorly maintained. Specialist advice on floor design is needed to avoid cows slipping and injure themselves.

 

Foot problems, such as laminitis, are related to imbalanced nutrition. Inadequate digestible fiber levels and high levels of starchy concentrate in the diet leading to ruminal acidosis have their effects on lame ness. Excessive protein levels in the diet are also known to cause laminitis. This is probably due to excessive ammonia production in the rumen.

 

However, avoid sudden big increases in concentrate feeding and restrict early post-calving concentrate intakes to less than 5 kg per single feed. Including straw and hay in the diet is good practice, as it limits rumen acidity.

 

Some mineral deficiencies, such as sulfur and zinc deficiencies, may contribute to poor horn formation, and these minerals may need supplementation when dietary supply is insufficient. Vitamins such as biotin may be useful in some situations, however, the entire ration should be reviewed before recommending supplements.

 

All feet should be checked at least twice yearly. Regular foot trimming can be beneficial, as it Reduces the risk of foot damage due to misshapen and overgrown hooves. On a herd basis, trimming allows regular examination of the feet and hence early diagnosis of any lesion lame ness. The feet should not be trimmed when the cows are going out on tracks. The dry period is the most convenient period and allows "convalescence".

Walk-through and stationary foot-bathing are satisfactory techniques for reducing the incidence and spread of foot infections, such as digital dermatitis and foul-in-the-foot. Solutions of 5-10% zinc sulphate or copper are most commonly used in organic farming.

 

Formaldehyde can be used in concentrations up to 3%, but is subject to restrictions by some certification bodies, and should be handled with extreme care as it is toxic and irritating to both cows and stock workers. Some farmers have used parlor washing in disinfectant foot baths, although there is little evidence of its effectiveness against digital dermatitis.

 

If antibiotics are to be used, and solutions LINCOMYCIN-spectinomycin or erythromycin have been used. However, these are off-datasheet uses, and as such, require a 7-day milk withdrawal period following use (minimum of 14 days on organic farms) are therefore not suitable in organic systems unless in severe cases. Foot-bathing should be under duties during periods of risk, such as early lactation and especially during the autumn and winter housing period.

 

Foot-baths are most effective when cows enter the bath with clean hooves. Ideally, two baths should be used in tandem, the first containing just water or parlor washing to clean the feet and the second containing the disinfectant solution or therapuetic. Most permanent foot-baths are placed in the exit passage from the milking parlor or are in a race. Providing a double row of foot baths or space permits can help cow flow.

 

If the herd is suffering from contagious foot rot, the use of foot baths should be carefully considered as they may act as vectors and spread the disease in the herd. The veterinarian should be consulted before implementing regular foot bathing in a herd.

All foot baths should be kept as clean as possible and after use, foot bathing solution should be carefully disposed of either by pouring into a slurry store system for spreading or later by contacting the local authority id concentrate solution is to be disposed of.