Mobility and Claw health in cattle Flashcards
Importance of Lameness?
Cost of lameness?
- Fertility – reduced production (milk + calves)
- Milk yield – reduced production (milk)
- Increased culling risk – replacement cost
Cost of each disease?
What factors are invovled in the cost of treatment for lameness ?
Lesion -> type & severity
Operator Time -> vet, farmer, foot trimmer
Materials -> blocks, hoof trim kit
Medication -> ABs, Analgesia, Milk withold
What is the welfare cost fo lameness?
- Pain&. discomfort
- Reduced expression of normal bhvr ->
- disturbed resting
- feeding & social patterns
Incidence vs prevalence?
Common causes of lameness ?
-> Non infectious
- Sole bruising
- sole ulcers - White line dx
-> infectious
- Digital dermatitis
- Interdigital necrobacillosis
- Interdigital hyperplasia
What are soem other less common causes of lameness?
-> non Infectious
- under run sole
- horn overgrowth
- Sand cracks
-> infection
- Toe necrosis
- Heel horn erosion
- FB penetration
What other considerations of the rest of the cow with lameness causes?
- MSK - fract/ dilocation or ligaments
- neuro - obutrator nerve paralysis; spinal injury
- Notifiable dx -> FMD & Bluetongue
- Lameness as 2ary symptom of MAstitis
What individual tx plan for foot dx?
- Trim and examine foot – following dutch 5 step foot
trimming method - Apply block if necessary
- Apply topical treatments if necessary
- Apply NSAID’s in necessary
- Apply systemic antibiotics if necessary
- Invasive trimming (in advanced cases)
- Digit amputation (in advanced cases)
What is the Dutch foot trimming method (5 steps)
- Length – 75-80mm toe-coronary band
- Level - 5mm toe height
- Model
- Treatment and lower height of lame claw
- Loose horn and irregular ridges
Which steps are functional vs therapeutic trimming?
Steps 1-3 Functional trimming
Steps 4-5 Therapeutic trimming
Detail hoof Block Application?
- Apply to healthy claw
- Aim to reduce weight bearing on lame claw
- 4-6 weeks re check and remove if necessary
What topical treatment options ?
- Infectious cases
- Clean and dry area
- Apply topical treatment
- Antibiotic – Oxytetracycline spray
- Non antibiotic – copper/zinc gels, iodine, salicylic acid
- Second application when dry
- Repeat for 3-5 days
What systemic treatments should we use ?
NSAIDS
- Licensed tx - considr milk withdrawal times
- Meloxicam, ketoprofen + other
ABs:
- Penicillin or oxytet
- 3-5 day duration
When would we do digit amp?
deep digital sepsis, non-healing, acute trauma
Surgical approach or digit amp?
- Apply tourniquet
- IVRA
- Clean embryotomy wire in interdigital space
and make a transverse cut - Apply pressure bandage
Post op care for digit amp?
- Change bandage every 2-3 days until granulation
tissue forming - Hospital pen
- NSAIDs and systemic antibiotics
What 4 success factors for healthy feet?
External heifer replacement ?
- Management change (e.g. housing, nutrition, group)
- Competition
- Social hierarchy
- Naive to infectious diseases
Internal heifer replacement?
- Calving
- ↑ Udder size
- ↑ foetal weight
- +/- under-developed digital cushion
Risk factors for poor underfoot hygiene?
- Poaching (gateways and troughs)
- Inadequate / incomplete scraping
- Pooling of slurry / water
- Inadequate bedding
- Inappropriate / insufficient cubicles
- Leaking roof / water troughs
- Poor drainage
- Deep slurry
Risk factors to inadequate foorbathing?
- Too infrequent
- No prewash / hosing
- Unsuitable footbaths
- Wrong concentration
- Solution not changed frequently enough
- (Wrong solution)
- Delayed detection and treatment
detail some good principles for footbathing?
- Correct product -> copper sulfate, formalin, organic acids
- Correct c° - 3-5%
- Correct depth 12.5 cm at end of session
- Correct n° of cow passes through (1 cow per L of solution)
- Correct frequency ( x weekly)
- Convenient to use
