Hunter Turner

Dairy Cattle Lameness

Lameness in dairy cattle is and always has been a serious health problem on
dairy farms around the world. Although, some dairies experience more lameness
than others, there are few conditions that are as costly or common. Lameness is
reported to be the third most common cause of culling or premature removal from
the heard, behind reproduction and mastitis. (Amstel & Shearer, 2006) Not only is it
important for a dairy farmer to be able to identify lameness and know how to treat
it, but it is equally important to understand its causes so steps can be taken to help
prevent it. Some factors to consider when discussing causes of lameness would be
nutrition, housing, environment and standing or lying time.
Nutrition is commonly thought to be a more important factor than the others,
especially when talking about laminitis. Laminitis is over growth of the hooves and
is caused by ruminal acidosis. Ruminal acidosis occurs when cows eat too much
energy and are able to sort out their feed. This disrupts blood flow to the hoof which
causes the laminitis.
Housing also plays a large role in determining causes of lameness. In the
United States most dairies have confinement based housing. This type of housing
has advantages such as keeping the cows out of extreme weather conditions, but it
also has its disadvantages. Most confinement housing forces the cows to stand and
walk on concrete regularly which can be detrimental to a cows hooves. Too much
time spent standing on concrete can thin the sole of a hoof and change the weight
bearing surfaces. This can cause sole ulcers and white line disease. Another

downside to the confinement system is that it keeps the entire herd confined to a
small space. In these small spaces of a confinement system that are not concrete,
manure, mud, and urine can accumulate. The more time a cow spends standing and
walking around in all this muck the increase of chances for a cow to get an infection
in the hoof such as foot rot and digital dermatitis, more commonly known as wart or
fungus.
The environment affects cows hooves as well. After a long period of rain fall
there are usually an increased number of cows with digital dermatitis due to
standing and walking around in an excess amount of moisture. During the hot
summer months cows also will have an increase of sole ulcers and white line
disease because the cows start to experience some heat stress and will stand on
their feet longer rather than lying down so they can stay cooler. Lying vs standing
time is a huge factor.
Bottom line is there are many factors to consider when talking about cattle
lameness. Nutrition, housing, and environment are three of the main ones. Making
sure a cow gets a balanced diet, has proper housing where she can be comfortable,
and is living in a healthy environment, should be important to all dairy producers.
Lameness is something that all dairies with and knowledge and treatment should be
taken seriously. After all, if a cow is severely crippled the shes not eating, being
bred, or producing milk like she should, and these are three of the most important
parts of the dairy industry.

References
Amstel, S. V., & Shearer, J. (n.d). Manuel for Treatment and Control of Lameness in
Cattle.
Blackwell Publishing

References
Amstel, S. V., & Shearer, J. (n.d.). Manual for Treatment and Control of
Lameness in Cattle. Blackwell Publishing.