1. Lameness In Dairy Cattle
John G Cook BVSc DCHP MRCVS

2. Lameness National Incidence 25% (4-55%)
Little change since late 1970’s-present day
88% foot, 12% leg
86% hind feet, 12% forefoot
85% outer claw
Latest surveys suggest 27%
Majority occur approx 8wks post-calving

3. Lameness Costs
Lost yield estimated at between 1-20% depending on severity. Lame cows don’t walk to feed.
Labour-treatment and husbandry
Welfare costs-Stress, bullying
Milk discard in addition to lost yield-antibiotics costs
Fertility-average 14 days (0-40) extra to conceive

4. Lameness Costs Cont. at approx £2-3/day
Weight loss-feed intake reduces before lameness is noticed
Culling and replacement costs-£700

5. Structure of the Foot Periople Wall Sole Heel Corium
Horn/hoof formation
Walk on last joint of third and fourth finger

6. Foot Structure

7. Lateral Foot

8. Weight Bearing

9. Hoof Growth Normal rate of growth (5mm per month)
Normal length of wall (60-80mm)
Angle of wall degrees
Length of time taken for horn to come into wear
Wall harder than sole-papillae density
White line and laminae

10. Horn Growth

11. Normal Weight-bearing Surfaces
Wall
Heel
Axial third of wall adjacent to inter-digital space-important
Small portion (10-20mm) of sole adjacent to white line
Major part of sole is non-weight bearing

12. Normal Foot

13. Hoof Overgrowth Occurs mainly at the toe
Toe harder than heel, grows more rapidly
Balance between rate of growth and rate of wear
Toe overgrowth results in backward rotation of pedal bone with pinching of the corium at the typical ulcer site
Genetics-high heritability

14. Toe Overgrowth

15. Overgrowth

16. Hoof Trimming
Objective to restore the balance of the foot restoring normal weight bearing
Inner claw first
First cut-most impt cut toe back to correct length
Two-pare down sole at toe restoring continuity of white line-keep checking thickness

17. Cut 1 and 2

18. Cut 1

19. Cut 2

20. Hoof Trimming
Cut 3-remove ledges of solar overgrowth ‘dishing’ the sole to produce a concave surface relieving the sole of weight bearing and increasing space between digits
Cut 4-remove additional horn from outer claw (inner in front foot) so claws are equal size

21. Cut 3

22. Cut3

23. Cut 4

24. Completed Trim

25. When To Trim When lame Discomfort when walking
Inspection of hind feet all cows at drying off
6-8 weeks post calving

26. Calving
Hoof growth temporarily ceases-weaknesses, coriosis-hardship lines
Rate of wear increases (feed,milk etc) not matched by rate of growth
Relaxation of ligaments
Change in diet-acidosis
Worse for heifer-high incidence of lameness at first oestrus

27. Cow Comfort Key to lameness control
Cubicle size, numbers, bedding type, straw yards
Escape routes-space/cow-cow/heifer groups
Walking surfaces
Trough space
Welly test

28. Diet Avoid sudden change at calving Avoid acidosis
Ensure adequate fibre
No more than 4kg concentrates per feed
Cow stops ruminating at calving

29. Seasonal Effects
Hoof growth slower in autumn/winter than spring.summer.
Maximum wear and stress in housed cows in autumn/winter
Maximum wear at time of minimum ability to repair
Autumn calving heifer at highest risk

30. Locomotion Scoring
Method of categorising the gait of a herd numerically
Easy to do
Raises awareness of lameness on farm
Encouraging recognition and treatment mild lameness as well as severe
Target setting-biannual

31. Scoring System 1 Normal no change in gait 2 Detectable change in gait
3 Obvious lameness
4 Lameness severely restricting mobility
5 Any lamer couldn’t stand up
FEW FIVES!!

32. Farm Table Farm Lower Mean Upper SD 1 1 1.69 2 .86 2 1 1.91 2 .86

33. Digital Dermatitis Superficial epidermatitis Very painful
Responds rapidly to treatment
Spirochaetes, Treponema spp. Cf Lepto
Geographical differences
Hygiene problem, dietary related
Dry cows harbour quiescent infection

34. Dig Derm Cont
Calving-immunosuppression allows quiescent infections to proliferate and radiate outwards producing typical lesion at heel.
Cost estimated around 400 litres per cow.

35. Dry Cow Dig. Derm.

36. Digital Dermatitis

37. Biotin 20mg per head per day in feed
Vitamin H normally produced in rumen
Inter-cellular matrix-cement
Significant reduction in white line disease
Takes time to show benefits-rate of hoof growth

38. Digital Dermatitis

39. Control
Efficient frequent slurry removal including stale areas automatic/tractor scrapers don’t reach water troughs, walkways etc.
Regular foot disinfection, wide variety of products-antibiotics, organic acids, formalin, CuSO4 etc
Herd will be infected but not affected