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From Florida to California or the Riviera to Rio, from white fine sugar to black or “green,” locations around the globe claim to be the home of the “best beach in the world.”
All of their claims to fame center on one compound: sand. Yet, the diversity of sand along oceans, lakes and rivers is astounding.
Whether you are building a new barn or renovating an existing structure, every dairy producer should strive for cow comfort. During the design phase, catering the facility to the cows’ needs should be the top priority. The end result: making the biggest bang for your buck.
Time is money. Business owners and managers know that time management is the basis of a successful business, and good recordkeeping is vital to provide direction. When it comes to taking care of your herd’s hoof health, quality records are invaluable to establishing management decisions and well worth the time.
Even with excellent nutrition, cow comfort and management, even the best dairies deal with lameness to some degree, often occurring as a lesion in the rear outside claw.
The next time the hoof trimmer tells you a cow has an abscess, ask him to be a little more specific. It is important to understand the underlying causes of these conditions in order to develop effective control and prevention strategies.
Over the years, I have come to understand that nutrition and foot health go hand-in-hand. I learned that rations are directly related to laminitis, and laminitis is often the reason we have sole ulcers, which are a major lameness concern.
It is now becoming common on dairy farms to have a dedicated area for hoof-trimming cattle. This is perhaps not surprising given the importance of lameness prevention to overall successful herd management.
Many dairy producers rely on footbath programs to help prevent and control active and chronic infectious claw lesions, such as digital dermatitis (DD), in their herds.
Maximizing the effectiveness of a footbath program hinges on three key factors: foot hygiene, proper footbath design (size, length and depth) and effective footbath management (chemical concentration, cow passes per change and frequency of use).
Throughout my experience consulting dairies, I have learned this: Lameness doesn’t just happen; it is a result of what is going on in the cow’s environment or management.
Resting time is commonly accepted as an indicator of cow comfort. Observations reveal first-lactation cows rest less than adult cows during the first month of lactation. There is also a clear diurnal pattern in resting time with longer resting periods during nighttime compared to daytime.
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