FAC37-38: Conditions of the Bovine Foot Flashcards
How many lame cows are there really?
Estimated 25 lameness cases for every 100 cows
What are other aspects involving the cow affected by lameness?
- Fertility
- Milk yield
- Cow welfare
- May reduce resistance to other diseases
- Increased risk of culling
- Veterinary treatments
- Increased labour costs
What is the slowest point of growth on the cow foot? Fastest point of growth?
Slow: heel
Fast: toe
What is the hardest part of the cow horn foot? Weakest?
Hard: wall
Weak: white line
How thick does the sole need to be to withstand bruising and stone penetration?
8mm
How much of the total weight of a cow is supported by the back feet? the front feet?
Back: 45%
Front: 55%
What is the optimal length of time that cows should spend lying down?
12-14 hours per day
What are the five principles of foot trimming?
- Correct tow overgrowth to correct foot angle
- Spare the heel, leave sole thickness
- Allow the walls to bear most weight, take weight off the sole ulcer site
- Remove weight from painful claws
- Remove dead or disease horn
What is the ideal angle of the toe and the ideal length of the horn?
toe = 52 degrees
length = 80mm
What are the management factors affecting lameness?
Calving
Foot trimming
Cow comfort
What are the environmental factors affecting lameness?
digital dermatitis
Slurry heel
Foul of the foot
What are the nutritional factors affecting lameness?
White line lesions
Sole ulcers
Haemorrhages (bruising)
How do you prevent/treat sole bruising?
- Corrective trim with care not to make matters worse by making the soles thin
- Consider ways of reducing standing times on concrete and hardening horn
- If only one claw is affected, apply block to healthy claw
- Rest the cow on soft bedding
- NSAIDs for pain
How do sole ulcers form?
The pedal bone pinches on the bottom of the sole leading to bruising and ulcers
Why is correct food balance important?
It prevents the pedal bone from pinching the corium, which will lead to bruising and ulcers
How do you treat a sole ulcer?
- Relieve the weight on the affected claw or if the other claw is healthy, apply a block
- Be hygienic
- DO NOT REMOVE THE PROLAPSED CORIUM
- Injectable antibiotics and pain relief
How do you prevent sole ulcers?
- Cow comfort - laying for sufficient time
- Heifer training for stalls
- Avoid sudden changes in diet (which may give rise to subclinical rumen acidosis)
- Routine examination of all cow’s feet
What are the indications for digit amputation?
- Traumatic injury to hoot
- Severe penetrations to the sole
- Sepsis and septic arthritis of the distal interphalangeal joint
- Septic tenosynovitis of the deep flexor tendon
- Osteomyelitis of the third phalanx
- THE OTHER CLAW IS SOUND AND CAPABLE OF TAKING ALL THE WEIGHT
What is white line disease?
Separation between walls allowing debris to get into the white line
How do you treat white line disease?
Drain pus and pare out to allow good drainage
What are some common causes for horn lesions?
Calving: disruption in horn formation
Feeding: acidosis and reduced biotin production
Excess standing: cow comfort
What is the benefit of biotin supplementation?
Supplementing with biotin has been shown to reduce white line disease - but the effects take 4 months to see
How do you treat stone damage?
Remove stones with the back of the knife or a small pick
Scallop it out
Open any tracks
How do you treat digital dermatitis?
- Clean/dry the wound using a cloth or paper towel
- Spray the wound
What is the biggest predisposing factor of digital dermatitis?
Poop. Standing in shit all day
What is slurry heel?
When the back of the heel has eroded
How do you treat slurry heel?
Eroded heel should be removed, preserving as much healthy horn as possible
What makes a good footbath?
- Keep the feet as clean as possible
- Make it long enough to that each foot will be submerged twice
- Make it deep enough so that each foot is completely submerged
- Clean the bath and make up fresh solution each milking
- Antibiotic v disinfectant (think of resistance!)
- Footbath ALL cows including dry cows
- Do on a regular basis (every milking)
- Don’t forget about slurry management
How do you apply blocks to claws?
- Only apply blocks to healthy claws
- Check the size of the block needed
- Place the block over the heel so the weight bearing part of the heel is covered
- Mould glue to avoid any sharp edges
- Check the block will land flat on the ground while the cow walks
What is a sandcrack?
Vertical fissure of the hoof wall
What is thimbling?
Horizontal fissure of the hoof wall
What is the cause of thimbling?
Poor horn production (in all 8 digits) during a severe toxaemic condition as this defect in the wall goes down to about two-thirds of its length, it weakens and may separate from the healthy horn proximally.
What is the difference between white line abscess and septic pedal arthritis?
The small area of the abaxial coronary band affected in white line disease
the whole coronet in septic pedal arthritis
What is the cause of white line abscesses?
Inflammation of the laminae/corium weakens the white line > separation of the white line, caused by torsional forces as cattle turn sharp corners, allows impaction with small stones and dirt > entry of bacteria > abscess
What is the cause of septic pedal arthritis?
Occurs sporadically in all ages of cattle following deep penetration of the distal interphalangeal joint by nails and other metal objects but is encountered most commonly following extension from sole ulcer lesions in the lateral hind claw of dairy cows
How do you treat septic pedal arthritis?
Digit amputation
What is superfoul?
Peracute form of interdigital necrobacillosis.
The lesion starts as a swelling and widening of the interdigital space with extensive tissue necrosis
