Too Many Lame Cows

How Can You Know? What Can Be Done?

Abstract

Concern about lameness in dairy cattle has mostly shifted to the herd level. What is the nature and magnitude of lameness issues for a particular herd? Arriving at useful knowledge of herd-level lameness issues requires at least within-herd consistency in recording of data. Benchmarks or goals may readily be set from past performance or from groups of herds using similar recording schemes. Targets for the incidence of specific lesions or diseases have been developed for herds in our practice and could be applied to herds in similar housing and feeding systems. The strategies for detection of lame cows are important. Locomotion scoring in some form is evolving into a standard that is used both to find cows for treatment and to qualify during welfare audits. There are predictable errors in scoring. Regardless of strategy, a shorter interval between detection and action results in a lower prevalence of lame cows. Devote effort to finding and fixing cows that can be helped.