Design and herd management are important to avoid failures of dairy farm footbaths.
Why isn’t your footbath stopping digital dermatitis?
Design and herd management are important to avoid failures
Essential nutrients build strong, healthy hooves
Zinc, copper, manganese, cobalt and biotin are the major builders of solid hooves
The health and integrity of a cow’s hoof are critical for its overall well-being, productivity, and profitability. Inside every cow’s hoof, a silent factory works nonstop, turning living cells into rock-hard horn. This process, called keratinization, is like a high-stakes assembly line. It starts with soft, rapidly dividing cells that gradually fill with tough proteins. […] Read more
What numbers define dairy cow lameness?
Many farmers can’t quote their lameness data as well as other farm benchmarks
Lesion patterns, monthly locomotion scoring and incidence rates are measurable and recordable data for dairy farmers to record around lameness on their farms.
Seven steps to a successful hoof trimming program
Hoof trimming helps to head off hoof lesions by keeping cows balanced
Hoof trimming is a critical, yet often underestimated aspect of dairy cow management. Lameness, primarily caused by claw lesions, remains one of the most significant welfare and productivity challenges in dairy farming. By maintaining hoof health, regular hoof trimming improves animal welfare and ensures optimal farm profitability. This article delves into the practical benefits of […] Read more
Amazing biology, but there’s also risk in bovine hooves
Is the suspensory apparatus in bovine hooves a boon or Achilles' Heel?
The intricate structure of cow hooves is a marvel of biological engineering but also a potential point of failure under stress. The suspensory apparatus can be a boon or an Achilles’ heel for today’s dairy cows. Damage to the complex suspensory apparatus leads to permanent structural changes and the chance of chronic lameness. The persistent […] Read more
Lameness stagnation: Why hoof health issues persist in dairy cattle
Despite years of identifying causes and new approaches hoof health is still a problem
Lameness is a complex condition influenced by a diverse array of intertwined factors, from cow-level elements to environmental conditions and management practices. It is often the cumulative impact of several interacting factors that leads to the development of lameness, making it challenging to control effectively. This interdependent nature of risk factors requires comprehensive and integrated […] Read more
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