Bovine, Ovine, Porcine Lameness Flashcards
How does lameness affect production and which cows in particular?
Milk yield + fertility
Higher yielding cows
What signs can you see with a lame cow?
- Uneven weight bearing (look at dew claws)
- Uneven step rhythm
- Shortened strides
- Head nod (rises on painful foot)
- Abnormal foot placement
- Arched back postures
- Speed
What are the treatment options with severe bovine lameness?
Score lameness initially
THEN
Surgery
Culling or euthanasia
v painful - need to treat!
What questions do you need to ask when assessing a cow for lameness?
- Which lactation? (heifer?)
- How long calved? (should be 100-150d)
- What previous foot problems?
- Other problems? (chronic or complicated problem)
- How long has she been lame for?
- What treatment has she had?
- Is she pregnant? Is she milking well? On cull list? (worth surgical tx?)
What is the lameness scoring called in cattle?
DairyCo mobility score
What is score 0 on the DairyCo mobility scale?
Cow walks with even weight bearing and rhythm on all four feet, with a flat back. Long fluid strides are possible
What is score 1 on the DairyCo mobility scale?
Cow’s steps are uneven (rhythm or weight bearing) or strides shortened; affected limb or limbs not immediately identifiable
What is score 2 on the DairyCo mobility scale?
Uneven weight bearing on a limb that is immediately identifiable and/or obviously shortened strides
(usually with an arch to center of the back)
What is score 3 on the DairyCo mobility scale?
Unable to walk as fast as a brisk human pace (cannot keep up with the healthy herd) and signs of score 2
Where can you see the highest % of lameness in a cow?
88% in feet-
and then 92% in hind feet
Before examining the foot what can you do if necessary? (name the method)
Thoroughly clean the foot
Perform a functional trim by Dutch 5 step foot trimming
What are the objectives for each of the 5 steps in the 5 step trim?
- Create a foot angle of 52 degrees
- Create balance between claws
- Transfer weight from sole into wall, toe, heel
- Remove weight from a painful claw
- Remove loose or sharp horn
What are the 5 steps to the Dutch foot trim?
- Trim toe to correct length (inner hind claw or outer fore claw (most normal)) - approx. 7.5cm (outer claw is usually longer)
Correct sole depth, Better angle for P3 - Trim the second toe to match the other one
- Dish out ‘model’ at the ulcer site
Corrective trim: - Trim down to heel horn of affected claw (2/3) or fix a block to the healthy claw
- Remove loose horn, hard ridges
(only caudal 1/3 of inner claw should be tidied and only back 2/3 of outer hind claw should be tidied)
What should you look out for in foot examination in regards to lameness?
- Visible lesions - sole, wall, heel, skin
- Heat
- Pain on hoof testers/finger pressure
- Feel + look in between claws
- Softening of heel/ coronary band (where hoof starts)
- Swelling above CB or in heel
- Redness on skin
- Odour
Haemorrhage in horn is approx. 2 months historic!
What are some common lesions that cause lameness?
- Sole ulcer
- White line disease
- Digital dermatitis
- Foul
What are some risk factors for infectious disorders causing lameness?
- Wet underfoot conditions
- Slurry
- Large groups
- High stocking density
- Delayed treatments
What is a sole ulcer?
A sole ulcer is a lesion located in the region of the sole/bulb junction, usually nearer the axial (middle) than abaxial margin
- Damage to the dermis is associated with a circumscribed zone of localized haemorrhage and necrosis
- Exposed Corium - area corresponding to flexor process of coffin bone
Don’t really know aetiology of them
What is the full treatment for sole ulcers?
a) Prognosis?
- Dutch 5 step
- Don’t amputate granulation tissue or burn off with copper sulphate
- Relieve weight: block the SOUND claw
- Trim collar of horn and thin down sole around ulcer
- Spray with antibiotic
- Inject with antibiotic if swelling
- Anti-inflammatory pain killer
- Nursing and clean yard
- Promote wound healing; nothing that burns!
a) Prognosis: generally okay, recurrence at next lactation possible, reduce fertility + lifespan
What should never be tampered with in a sole ulcer?
Granulation tissue!! Need to reduce strangulation and swelling on the prolapsed ‘quick’. Trim and thin to allow protruding corion to recover. Also, rest and NSAIDs helps
What are effective ways to reduce lameness due to solar ulcers?
- Pre- and post-calving transition management group
- Heifer comfort group (esp. in autumn calving herds)
- Reduce time shut away from cubicles
- Improve lying comfort
- Increase routine foot trimming
- Cubicle training
- Pre-calving heifers on concrete feed barrier
- Improve feeding! Decrease concentrate, crude protein, and increase dry matter (drier dung)
What is white line lesion?
also known as white line separation, white line disease
-Diseased horn affecting the junction between sole and wall
-includes
1. bruising (haemorrhage)
2. separation (fissuring)
3.abscessation
4. ulceration
These are considered stages of a diseased process
What is the etiology of white line disease?
Not much research on the development of lesions; theories include weak horn, wet conditions, thin soles (heifers?), PIII movement (due to thin soles), shearing forces
What is the full treatment for white line disease?
- Drain pus/infection from painful site = pare out with sharp knife
- Dutch 5 step trimming
- Relieve weight; block the sound claw
- Spray with antibiotic (Oxytetracycline spray)
- Inject antibiotic if swelling above the coronary band
- Anti-inflammatory pain killer
- Remove loose or under-run horn (1-2 weeks after an abscess)
What is the prognosis for white line disease after tx?
Usually good unless infected with Treponemes
What are some effective interventions for white line disease?
- Biotin
- Reduce risk for SARA in the herd
- Decrease standing times
- Improve cow flow
- Cow friendly under-foot surfaces
What is Digital dermatitis?
also known as - hairy heel warts, Mortellaro disease
A well circumscribed infection of skin - usually between the heel bulbs or palmer, plantar pastern area
- Lesions start as:
1. exudative epithelial erosions/ulceration
2. then granulation
3. hyperkeratosis
4. scab formation (final stage)
Intervention of 3 different types of Treponeme - entry from hair follicles
What are the different stages of Digital dermatitis?
M1: Ulcerative 2cm
M3: Regressing
M4.1: Reactivating
M4: Hyperkeratotic
What is the appropriate tx for all the different stages of DD?
M1: clean, dry (paper towel), topical oxytetracycline spray (3 consecutive days) - in between claws
M2: as above but debride with gauze/paper towel + consider bandaging with antibacterial agent
(Dutch 5 step foot trim)
M3: clean, debride/debulk (under local as necessary), bandage with antibacterial agent
M4: as M3
What are effective interventions for digital dermatitis?
- Foot bathing
- Slurry management
- (biosecurity)
What are the 7 ways of preventing/controlling lameness due to digital dermatitis?
- Improve foot hygiene - yards and tracks
- Improve foot bathing (incl. DCs)
- Biosecurity (no new strains)
- Rear heifers free of DD
- Treatment of new or persistant cases - clean, dry, 3 treatments
- Be hygienic at foot trimming
- Improve lying comfort
What is foul (in the foot)?
also known as Footrot, phlegmon - interdigital phlegmon, interdigital necrobacillosis
Acute bacterial infection of subcutaneous tissues of the interdigital space
What is foot rot usually associated with?
Foreign body or sand between the toes
What bacteria causes foul?
Fusobacterium necrophorum
What are the clinical signs of Foul?
Symmetrical swelling
Separation of claws
Interdigital skin necrosis (necrotic discharge)
Pungent odour
What is the treatment for foul?
- Check interdigital space for foreign bodies
- Wash and flush with plenty of clean water
- Debride necrotic tissue, use of topical antibiotics (?)
- Parenteral antibiotics (need to think about milking, beef, cost and withdrawal) - licensed injectable Ab
What are some antibiotics available to treat foul?
- Oxytetracycline
- Penicillin
- Penicillin/streptomycin combo
- Tylosin
- Ceftiofur
- Sulphamethoxypyridazine