While there are many differences between farms even within a local area, there are also many common problems that affect dairy farms right across the globe. This was brought home to me very forcefully a few weeks back when we had the pleasure of hosting an XLVets Skillnet farmer workshop on a local farm with New Zealand vet and lameness expert Neil Chesterton.
The main focus of the day was on prevention of lameness as far as possible. To help people understand why cows go lame, Neil advised that farmers consider their own cow handling methods and facilities. The approach that he advised was not to look for causes of lameness per se, but to look for factors that increase the risk of a cow going lame.
The risk factors discussed included uneven, mucky, stony roadways, walking long distances, narrow entrances, small collecting yards, sharp bends and cows being rushed or driven aggressively.
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The single biggest factor driving cow lameness in grazing herds in Ireland according to recent Moorepark research is hoof trauma leading to white line disease (drops) and bruising. This is also the case in New Zealand where white line disease and sole bruising account for over 90% of lameness and where Mortellaro and sole ulcers are extremely rare.
Reduce the risk
What can farmers do to reduce the risk of trauma to the hooves of their cows?
Cows are careful animals, not risk takers. Given the time, they will avoid stones by carefully checking the ground before placing the front foot, and the back foot will be placed on the same spot. To do this, they need to be given time and space and not rushed by man or dog.
Construct and maintain farm roadways and cow tracks that are cow-friendly. This means a roadway sufficiently wide for herd size, a surface with some “give” on top, with a moderate camber and constructed and maintained to allow water escape.
As cows have a different walking order from the order in which they enter the parlour to be milked, they need to have the space to move freely in the collecting yard. For a typical Friesian cow, the recommendation is 1.5sq m per cow. If your collecting yard is small, is it possible to hold cows in an outside yard until part of the herd is milked?
Ger Cusack works at Comeragh Veterinary Kilmacthomas, Co Waterford. Comeragh Veterinary is part of XLVets. XLVets is a group of progressive practices who are working together to achieve a better future for agriculture and veterinary in Ireland. For further information go to www.xlvets.ie
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While there are many differences between farms even within a local area, there are also many common problems that affect dairy farms right across the globe. This was brought home to me very forcefully a few weeks back when we had the pleasure of hosting an XLVets Skillnet farmer workshop on a local farm with New Zealand vet and lameness expert Neil Chesterton.
The main focus of the day was on prevention of lameness as far as possible. To help people understand why cows go lame, Neil advised that farmers consider their own cow handling methods and facilities. The approach that he advised was not to look for causes of lameness per se, but to look for factors that increase the risk of a cow going lame.
The risk factors discussed included uneven, mucky, stony roadways, walking long distances, narrow entrances, small collecting yards, sharp bends and cows being rushed or driven aggressively.
The single biggest factor driving cow lameness in grazing herds in Ireland according to recent Moorepark research is hoof trauma leading to white line disease (drops) and bruising. This is also the case in New Zealand where white line disease and sole bruising account for over 90% of lameness and where Mortellaro and sole ulcers are extremely rare.
Reduce the risk
What can farmers do to reduce the risk of trauma to the hooves of their cows?
Cows are careful animals, not risk takers. Given the time, they will avoid stones by carefully checking the ground before placing the front foot, and the back foot will be placed on the same spot. To do this, they need to be given time and space and not rushed by man or dog.
Construct and maintain farm roadways and cow tracks that are cow-friendly. This means a roadway sufficiently wide for herd size, a surface with some “give” on top, with a moderate camber and constructed and maintained to allow water escape.
As cows have a different walking order from the order in which they enter the parlour to be milked, they need to have the space to move freely in the collecting yard. For a typical Friesian cow, the recommendation is 1.5sq m per cow. If your collecting yard is small, is it possible to hold cows in an outside yard until part of the herd is milked?
Ger Cusack works at Comeragh Veterinary Kilmacthomas, Co Waterford. Comeragh Veterinary is part of XLVets. XLVets is a group of progressive practices who are working together to achieve a better future for agriculture and veterinary in Ireland. For further information go to www.xlvets.ie
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