Bovine Claw and Limb Disorders at Claw Trimming Related to Milk Yield

Abstract

As part of a cross-sectional study of Norwegian Red Cattle, associations of lameness, lesions at the tarsus, claw shapes, claw lesions, and claw trimming with milk yield were examined. Fifty-five tie-stall herds and 57 free-stall herds were sampled by computerized systematic selection, and 2,665 cows were trimmed and limb and claw disorders recorded. After exclusions, 2,599 cows were included in this study. Monthly recordings of milk were extracted from the Norwegian Dairy Herd Recording System. Most claw lesions were mild (score 1). The prevalence of moderate and severe lesions (score 2 and 3) did not exceed 5% for any of the lesions. Associations with test-day milk yield were identified using regression analyses (Proc Mixed) with repeated measurements within lactation and herd as random effect. Lactation curves were fit to visualize differences in changes in milk yield throughout the lactation. Milk yield was generally higher in cows with lesions at the tarsus, heel-horn erosions, and hemorrhages of the white line and the sole than in cows without these lesions, whereas cows with dermatitis yielded less than cows without dermatitis. Cows in lactation 1 with corkscrewed claws had reduced milk yield, whereas cows in lactations 2 and above had increased milk yield compared with cows without corkscrewed claws in respective lactations. Cows in lactation 1 yielded 0.47 +/- 0.15 kg and cows in later lactations yielded 0.51 +/- 0.15 kg more milk on test days after claw trimming than they did before when adjusted for days in milk. In this study, where most disorders were mild, the most evident results were higher milk yield in cows with lesions at the tarsus, heel-horn erosions, and hemorrhages of the white line and the sole than in cows without these lesions. Cows yielded more milk after claw trimming than they did before trimming.

A prospective cohort study of digital cushion and corium thickness. Part 1: Associations with body condition, lesion incidence, and proximity to calving

“…Photographs were stored for lesion analysis after the on-farm data collection was complete. Briefly, for the current analysis lesions were categorized as sole ulcer, severe sole hemorrhage, severe white line lesion, or a digital dermatitis lesion; describes the full lesion analysis, which was based on lesion descriptors previously used in the literature (Dopfer et al, 1997;Leach et al, 1998;Sogstad et al, 2007).…”

A prospective cohort study of digital cushion and corium thickness. Part 2: Does thinning of the digital cushion and corium lead to lameness and claw horn disruption lesions?

“…Sole hemorrhage, white line hemorrhage, and white line separation were each assigned 1 of 3 severities: mild, moderate, or severe; the most severe lesion of each type present on each claw was recorded. Hemorrhage category definitions were mild: slight hemorrhagic discoloration; moderate: darker discoloration up to dark pink; or severe: profound, dark pink, red, or purple discoloration (Leach et al, 1997;Sogstad et al, 2007). White line separation category definitions were mild: marks along the white line; moderate: deep, affected fissures; or severe: very deep, profound fissures with either involvement of the corium, purulent exudate, necrosis, granulation tissue, or separation of the wall (Sogstad et al, 2007).…”

“…Hemorrhage category definitions were mild: slight hemorrhagic discoloration; moderate: darker discoloration up to dark pink; or severe: profound, dark pink, red, or purple discoloration (Leach et al, 1997;Sogstad et al, 2007). White line separation category definitions were mild: marks along the white line; moderate: deep, affected fissures; or severe: very deep, profound fissures with either involvement of the corium, purulent exudate, necrosis, granulation tissue, or separation of the wall (Sogstad et al, 2007). Region of the foot was identified as recommended by the standard foot map (Greenough and Vermunt, 1991), and digital dermatitis was classified according to the M-scale (Döpfer et al, 1997) including the M4.1 category .…”

Detection of quantitative trait loci for clinical mastitis in crossbred Holsteins in the tropics

“…The costs of mastitis include veterinary treatment, reduced milk production, contamination with antibiotics in milk, early culling, and decreased milk quality (Huijps et al, 2008;Olde Riekerink et al, 2008;Sogstad et al, 2007). Moreover, CM resistance has a negative genetic correlation with milk production (Sørensen et al, 2009;Vallimont et al, 2009).…”