Last week at Dairy Day, Journal vet Tommy Heffernan and Waterford-based vet Ger Cusack discussed lameness control in the dairy herd.

Here are some of the key messages.

Tip 1: Don’t wait on lame cows, lift their feet immediately. Prompt treatment allows a more proactive approach. Lame cows won’t get better on their own.

Tip 2: Over 85% of lameness occurs from physical trauma or what we call mechanical lameness. Antibiotics will have little benefit to these, but painkillers will make a big difference.

Tip 3: Get the basic skills of hoof-paring sorted and invest in a good knife and hoof knack for lifting feet easily.

Tip 4: Identify mortellaro infections early and treat them. Control spread within the herd by footbathing regularly. Set up a concrete solid footbath and get cows used to moving through it. Have a high-pressure water hose to allow regular filling and cleaning of the footbath.

Tip 5: Run scrapers more often and improve ventilation at housing time to ensure feet are as clean as possible. Provide one cow with one cubicle to minimise standing time. Also, hand-scrape high-traffic areas where scrapers can’t access. Avoid burst water pipes or water build-up.

Tip 6: Place a block on any feet (block on good claw) that have bad bruising or ulceration to allow the other claw time to heal.

Tip 7: Don’t push cows too fast, as this may lead to more lameness around the yard and especially on roadways. Cows move at 3km/h.

Tip 8: Grass-based systems should place huge focus on roadways in long-term control plans. Also, watch high transition areas and avoid slopes on any part of the cow’s daily journey. Where cows are traversing slopes, place steps.

Discussing lameness at Dairy Day.

Start monitoring lameness in your herd now by mobility scoring them and looking at what is causing the lameness and why it is occurring.