Effects of flooring and rearing system on hoof health of dairy cows in some selected areas of Bangladesh

Abstract

A survey was conducted to explore prevalence and risk factors of diverse hoof disorders on dairy cows at Chittagong and Patuakhali, Bangladesh from June 2012 to February 2013. About 2103 cows were examined from where 497 cases identified having fissure (37%), crack (19%), partially broken (19%), swollen hoof (16%) and multiple disorders (9%) in backyard dairy cows whereas 37%, 17%, 20%, 20% and 6% in commercial cows, respectively. Significantly higher prevalence (p<0.05) was recorded in cows reared under concrete floor (68.4%) compared to brick (13.27%) and concrete with rubber bedding (18.3%). Other major conventional risk factors were season, age, milk yield and washing practiced on floor though the results were not significant (p>0.05). The study has remarked frequency of hoof diseases in the survey areas along with factors causing risk to dairy cows.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjas.v43i2.20714 Bang. J. Anim. Sci. 2014. 43 (2): 132-137

Prevalence of lameness, claw lesions, and associated risk factors in dairy farms in Selangor, Malaysia

“…The cow prevalence of lameness of 19.1% with herd prevalence ranging from 10 to 33% reported in this study is similar to that presented in Bangladesh and China (Rahman et al 2014 ; Chapinal et al 2014 ) and different from that reported in Switzerland and Ireland (Becker et al 2014 ; Somers and O’Grady 2015 ). The disparity could be due to variation in herd size, management practices, and diagnostic criteria (Tadich et al 2010 ).…”

“…Lameness in dairy cows is a welfare problem (Whay and Shearer 2017 ) and causes economic loss attributed to early culling, treatment, of and reduced milk yield (Green et al 2014 ; Thomas et al 2016 ). The prevalence of lameness varies amongst herds between regions and countries as cow level prevalence of lameness was 21.98 and 18.9% in western Thailand (Rahman et al 2014 ) and Australian dairy herds, respectively (Ranjbar et al 2016 ). In India, a recent study reported incidence of lameness of 17.2% in contrast to 9.4% recorded previously (Asit and Pankaj 2016 ).…”

Why Is the Grass the Best Surface to Prevent Lameness? Integrative Analysis of Functional Ranges as a Key for Dairy Cows’ Welfare

“…The alteration on movement parameters that this surface generates, given its high abrasion and the discomfort it causes to the animal, makes the use of this surface in free housing of dairy cows not recommended. This situation is confirmed with a high prevalence of lameness, which fluctuates between 13.3% and 40.9% [ 33 , 35 , 36 ], Figure 4 A.…”

“…The bovine lameness prevalence range on rubber surfaces is between 5% and 27.9% [ 22 , 35 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 74 , 75 ]. Most studies report values around 20% ( Figure 4 A, Table S1 ) as well as a lower annual milk production than that of sand (11027 ± 240 kg/cow/year, n = 119 vs. 11785 ± 240 kg/cow/year, n = 89) [ 24 ], with no significant difference to the one reported for hard and abrasive surfaces such as asphalt (7535 ± 745 kg/cow/year, n = 193 vs. 7286 ± 1778 kg/cow/year, n = 239) and concrete (7535 ± 745 kg/cow/year, n = 193 vs. 7889 ± 1179 kg/cow/year, n = 213) [ 71 ].…”

“…Concrete is considered one of the most commonly used types of surfaces in livestock management due to its long-term durability and ease of cleaning [ 11 , 12 ]. However, on this surface, the highest prevalence of lameness is reported (ranging from 19.8 to 68.4%) [ 22 , 29 , 35 , 58 , 59 , 69 , 74 ]. Several claw disorders are observed more frequently under this type of flooring.…”