Lameness has been a big problem in Greenfield this year. About €7,000 was spent on improving roadways, and almost as much again will be spent on treating the lame cows. Other large farms are having similar problems.
The plan of attack in Greenfield is to locomotion score the herd every couple of months. This involves putting a score on each cow’s mobility or how she is walking. A cow walking perfectly gets a score of 0, while a cow that is almost perfect gets a score of 1. Cows that are showing early signs of lameness are given a score of 2, while obviously lame cows are scored 3. The idea is to identify the cows with a score of 2 and get them treated before they become a score 3. Since they started, the number of cows at score 3 has drastically reduced, with only three or four identified last week. To locomotion score, you should be able to observe cows walking on a smooth and level surface at her own pace. We will cover this more over the coming weeks.
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Lameness has been a big problem in Greenfield this year. About €7,000 was spent on improving roadways, and almost as much again will be spent on treating the lame cows. Other large farms are having similar problems.
The plan of attack in Greenfield is to locomotion score the herd every couple of months. This involves putting a score on each cow’s mobility or how she is walking. A cow walking perfectly gets a score of 0, while a cow that is almost perfect gets a score of 1. Cows that are showing early signs of lameness are given a score of 2, while obviously lame cows are scored 3. The idea is to identify the cows with a score of 2 and get them treated before they become a score 3. Since they started, the number of cows at score 3 has drastically reduced, with only three or four identified last week. To locomotion score, you should be able to observe cows walking on a smooth and level surface at her own pace. We will cover this more over the coming weeks.
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