The Farm Audit: Foot Health, Lameness and Footcare

• Published in: Bovine Medicine pp. 406 - 417
• Main Author: Bell, Nick
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 26.05.2015
• Subjects: cow time budgets; dairy herds; foot‐trimming; lameness management programme
• ISBN: 1444336436; 9781444336436
• DOI: 10.1002/9781118948538.ch41

This chapter discusses prevalence and incidences of lameness in dairy herds. It appreciates the impact of lameness on welfare, dry matter intake, milk production and facility. The chapter discusses the direct and indirect economics costs of lameness, and allows understanding the importance of mobility scoring as part of a herd lameness management programme. It discusses the importance of early detection and early, effective treatment. The need and value of preventative and corrective foot‐trimming, and the importance of foot hygiene and dry conditions under foot are explained. The relationships between lameness and cow time budgets are discussed along with the relationship between lameness and movement methods, distances, surface type and turning movements. The importance of transitional cow and heifer management in reducing the risk of lameness are also explained. The importance of conformation and breeding in reducing the risk of lameness is discussed.