Cattle lameness Flashcards
How is lameness linked to animal welfare?
It is painful (often extremely painful)
What are the considerations regarding lameness in cattle?
- Animal welfare
- Effect on public perception of the industry
- Impact on milk yield
- Impact on reproductive performance
- Culling
- Impact on nutrition
- Cost of lameness
How is lameness linked to milk yield?
High yielding cows are more susceptible to lameness
What are the effects of lameness on reproductive performance?
- Cows classified as lame had 3.5 times greater odds of delayed cyclicity, compared with cows classified as non-lame
- Association with ovarian cysts
- Lower oestrus intensity
- Prolonged calving intervals, less likely to conceive
How are specific reproductive behaviours affected by lameness?
Decrease in all of the following:
- Mounting activity
- Standing to be mounted
- Sniffing vulva
- Chin resting
- Flehmen
How is lameness linked to culling?
- Lame animals are more likely to be culled
- The fact that high yielding animals are more likely to get lame complicates things
How does lameness impact nutrition?
- Reduced time spent eating
- Reduced dry matter intake
- Low BCS
Describe the different costs of lameness
- Treatment cost (drugs, vet, milk withdrawal)
- Labour cost
- Reduced yields/ reproductive performance
- Involuntary culling/ low carcass quality
How can lameness be measured?
- Mobility scores: regular monitoring, lameness meetings(farmer/ trimmer/vet/nutritionist)
- Fortnightly lameness scoring and treatment
- Lesion recording/hock lesion scoring
What are the 3 scores for hock lesions?
1 = no swelling, no hair is missing 2 = no swelling, bald area on the hock 3 = swelling is evident and there is a lesion through to the hide
Which bones make up the bovine distal limb?
- Pedal bone (P3)
- Pastern bone (P2)
- Fetlock bone (P1)
- Navicular bone (coffin bone)
Which 3 joints make up the bovine distal limb
- Distal interphalangeal joint
- Proximal interphalangeal joint
- Metatarsophalangeal joint
What are lamellae?
Leaflets of horn lining the inside of the wall (coronary epidermis)
What are laminae?
Leaflets of connective tissue, collagen fibres, nerves and blood vessels that fit exactly between the lamellae
What is the suspensory apparatus of the digit?
Collagen fibres keeping pedal bone attached to dermal lamellae
