Cattle Lameness Flashcards
What is the economic impact of lameness?
*Reduced milk yield
*Less fertile - prolonged calving intervals
What reproductive signs were affected most with lameness?
- Significant Decrease in cows mounting if lame
- Significant Decrease in cows sniffing vulva if lame
What is the effect of lameness on BCS?
*Reduced time spent eating
*Reduced dry matter intake
= lower BCS
What are the costs of lameness?
*Treatment cost - drugs, vet, milk withdrawal
*Labour cost
*Reduced yields / reproductive performance
*Involuntary culling / low carcass quality
Could be costing the UK dairy industry more than £200million annually
How does mobility scoring work?
Scale of 0-3
0 = good mobility
1 = imperfect mobility
2 = Impaired mobility
3 = severely impaired mobility
What is the fetlock bone?
Proximal phalanx - P1
What is the pastern bone?
Middle phalanx - P2
What is the pedal bone?
Distal phalanx - P3
What is the coffin bone?
Navicular bone - Distal sesamoid
What are lamellae?
Leaflets of horn lining the inside of the wall (coronary epidermis)
(AKA epidermal lamellae)
What are laminae?
Leaflets of connective tissue, collagen fibres, blood vessels + nerves that fit exactly between the lamellae
(AKA dermal lamellae)
What is the dutch method of foot trimming?
- Start with medial hind claw (lateral fore)
- Trim dorsal wall length to 7cm
- Reduce sole depth at the toe to approximately 5 to 7 mm (don’t over trim)
- Spare the heel
- Correct wall length/ sole depth of the other claw
- Model/ dish out
- deeper and wider modelling of the lateral hind/medial fore claw
What are infectious lesions of the hoof?
*Digital dermatitis
*Foul in the foot
*Interdigital dermatitis
*Heel horn erosion
What are non-infectious lesions of the hoof?
*Sole haemorrhages / bruising
*Sole ulcers
*White line lesions
