Treating within twenty-four hours reduces lameness problems

Dairy herds have much less of a problem with lameness if problem cows are treated within twenty four hours of spotting the problem.

Matt Dobbs

This important fact was made by Matt Dobbs, director of Westpoint veterinary practice and advisor to Tesco, at a UK Jerseys farm walk in Surrey.

The 200-cow Jersey herd of Andy Marshall at Mellersh Farm, Guildford has had mobility and lameness monitored by Matt Dobbs over the past three years. This has been part of a project run by Bristol University Veterinary School and over 200 herds have taken part.

Mellersh – a shining example

Lameness has been more than halved from 12.9 too 6 per cent during the period of the trial. Not that it was poor at the beginning, lameness ranged from zero to 79 per cent across the surveyed herds. Equally, it is improvement within a herd, and not across-herd comparisons, which is the key target.

The improvement has come about through recognising the vital role of the team milking the herd in detecting problems, and dealing with them straight away. The milk recording organisations collate treatments and animal scores, a valuable way of providing herd management and improvement information for milk buyers.

Andy Marshall

This philosophy of teamwork runs right across the Mellersh business and Andy Marshall stresses the significance of involving staff and suppliers alike. The success of this policy was rewarded by the herd winning the Lily Hill Cup in 2008 as the leading Jersey herd in the RABDF / NMR Gold Cup competition.

Cubicle bed management also receives a lot of attention at Mellersh where good quality, dry, straw is used on the crushed chalk base. In addition, a dried seaweed product is sprinkled over the rear of the beds to absorb moisture and provide a disinfecting effect.

Mellersh is in the minority as most of the low incidence herds house on loose yards rather than in cubicles. Jersey, too, have an advantage where their smaller frame size leads to lighter weight distribution on each foot, and the well recognised benefit of black hooves gives the breed tougher feet..

Yield loss and lower fertility

Cows suffering from lameness are estimated to have a reduced milk yield of as much as 390 litres per lactation. The value of lost milk plus treatment costs is over £170 per case.

On top of this, past research shows that every factor associated with fertility falls when a cow is lame. The extent of this is now being assessed within the Bristol University project herds.

Mobility and Locomotion assessments

Matt Dobbs explained the fundamental difference between mobility and locomotion scoring.

Locomotion assessment is an internationally recognised measure, resulting in long term improvement through heritable breed traits. In contrast, mobility is a health and welfare issue, aimed at reducing any current pain which a cow may be suffering.

Mellersh Cows

Those working with a herd on a daily basis are by far the best people to recognise lameness. The assessment has now been simplified by rating animals on a score between 0 and 3. Animals with a 2 rating should be treated immediately to prevent deterioration, while those at 3 need special care which does not subject them to walking longer distances or standing on concrete for too long.

Matt Dobbs explained that 65 per cent of a cow’s body weight is carried on the inside claw of each foot; hind legs are more prone to problems as the hip structure is far less flexible than fore-shoulders in the way in which legs are attached to the rest of the body.

Foot trimming at 40 days post calving, including heifers, corrects foot imbalances before they become a problem, and pre-calving management of heifers also prepares these younger animals for the rigours of life in a milking herd.