It has been a season of extremes with conversations based on comments such as ‘I cannot remember the last time we had this much rain' or ‘I have never lost so many lambs in one week' being commonplace. ‘I have never seen so many lame cows' must also be one of the more common sayings. Unfortunately this is the aftermath of prolonged saturation to which farms have succumbed in the last few months.
Wet conditions result in a softer hoof with greater wear and more chance of sole penetration. Fines become washed away from tracks, exposing sharp stones. Concrete becomes more abrasive and there are more bacteria floating around which, following trauma, can set up conditions such as footrot.
It has not been unusual to hear of 30-40% of herds being lame which, if ignored, could have very serious consequences.
Lame cows reduce production, lose weight and are less likely to cycle on time. The financial implications are huge and there's a massive drain on manpower at a time when things are already stretched. Lame cows are depressing!
Many tracks are severely damaged, feet are soft and bruised and underpasses are flooded. There are many improvements that can be made in the long-term but....what can you do in the short-term?
Even if you have the worst races in the district and follow a few basic rules, you can make a huge difference to the incidence of lameness.
- Always use patience when assembling or moving cows. Never push them; allow them to come and go from the shed at their own walking pace. A guideline for walking speed is 45m/min or 2.7km/hr.
- Never use a dog to chase the cows or push them too hard with a quad.
- Keep the feed pad, collecting yard and any other areas of concrete free from stones. This may mean hosing or scraping twice daily but the effort is worth it. Just think how long it can take to treat one lame cow.
- Ensure there is enough room in the collecting yard. Cows should be able to move freely to establish their correct milking order which, just to make things difficult, is not the same order in which they walk to the shed.
- Go easy on the backing gate. Ensure everyone uses it in the same way and never for periods of more than 5-10 secs. Little and often. It should never be electrified.
- If the collecting yard is too crowded, cows will be lifting their heads. If you are seeing this, consider starting to milk before all cows are on the yard to relieve some of the pressure.
- Treat lameness early to ensure a prompt recovery and return to the herd. Very few cows require antibiotics (footrot and septic arthritis being the main exceptions). Most require some knife work and possibly a cowslip.
- Use lots of cowslips. They make a huge difference to recovery. Cows will be back in the herd sooner (and they are cheaper than a course of penicillin!).
- Train your bulls to stay in the paddock and not come into the shed. This requires the commitment of all staff from day one but will reduce the chance of bulls becoming lame during mating.
If you are struggling with lameness, we can help with advice to get you on top of the lame cow herd if it is building up. We can also troubleshoot your farm for problem areas, or provide staff training to improve awareness and treatment skills.
