The way in which beef producers manage the tasks of "housing" and watering and feeding their cattle during the winter will have a significant impact on the productivity and profitability of the herd.

The team of Dr. Jen Walker, Dr. Gerard Cramer and Jamie Sullivan are using their expertise and experience to educate, train and promote the principles of hoof care, and proper functional and therapeutic trimming techniques for improved animal welfare on farms through the Kinder Hoof Care Academy Trimmer Training.

The welfare of a lame cow is affected in at least three ways: 1) it interferes with natural behaviors such as walking, lying down and interacting with herdmates; 2) it impairs normal function by reducing milk production and reproductive efficiency; and 3) the pain impacts the cow’s affective states of physical and mental well-being. What can we do to manage lameness more effectively and improve the welfare of cows that develop lameness?

Anybody who has raised cattle for any length of time has probably had to deal with lame cattle. The odds are great that the animal was either suffering from foot rot or a physical injury to the leg or foot.

By implementing effective management strategies, such as maintaining optimal hygiene, following proper footbath protocols, early detection and treatment, as well as adjusting the diet to support rumen health, dairy producers can minimize the occurrence and severity of digital dermatitis (DD), also known as hairy heel warts. 

I work with farms across the country troubleshooting for potential contributors to lameness prevalence in their herd. Cattle lameness is a challenge that every farm will one day experience. It is better to prevent it through procedures such as scheduled maintenance, hoof trimming and overall herd management practices.

In robotic milking systems, where cows need to move frequently to and from milking robots, lameness can severely disrupt operations. Here are ways to prevent and address lameness in automated milking facilities.

All lactating cows should be locomotion scored on a weekly basis. This is a great start in identifying cows that could benefit from a trip through the trimming chute. In addition to locomotion scoring, what other techniques can we implement on a daily basis that could help us catch the cows with an early onset of lameness?