Consistency is usually a positive term when describing footbath management. However, there are so many footbath management variables that one or more mistakes can easily be made.

With summer in full swing, high temperatures are here to stay. Increasing temperatures can have a multitude of negative effects on dairy cows, including hoof problems that rear their heads later on.

By definition, lameness is any abnormality that causes a cow’s gait to change. However, within this broad term are very specific types of hoof lesions and injuries, and each requires specialized treatment for the best recovery opportunity.

Do you know what causes about 50 percent of lameness cases in dairy cattle? Digital dermatitis. This disease is tricky to manage and can cause serious economic losses if not controlled.

Lameness is one of the most common and most economically destructive production diseases of dairy cows. It is associated with a reduction in milk yield and fertility and an increase in culling rate and medical costs. The prevalence of lameness in dairy cow herds is estimated within the range of 20 to 25 percent, but it could reach up to 80 percent in some herds.

Understanding the link between nutrition, healthy claws and production Inadequate nutrition during the rearing period may result in heifers of insufficient size at breeding, delayed ovulation, delayed first breeding and extended time to entrance into the lactating herd as a first-calf heifer.