Herd- and Cow-Level Prevalence of Foot Lesions in Ontario Dairy Cattle

The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to determine herd-level and cow-level prevalence estimates for 11 foot lesions in Ontario dairy cattle. Foot lesions were recorded by 5 hoof trimmers on 13,530 cows in 204 Ontario dairy herds from March 2004 to May 2005. Significant differences exist...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of dairy science 2008-10, Vol.91 (10), p.3888-3895
Main Authors: Cramer, G., Lissemore, K.D., Guard, C.L., Leslie, K.E., Kelton, D.F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
animal health
Animal productions
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Cattle
Cattle Diseases - epidemiology
Cattle Diseases - pathology
Cattle Diseases - therapy
cross-sectional studies
dairy cattle
Dairying
dermatitis
digital dermatitis
disease prevalence
disease surveillance
feet
Female
Food industries
Foot Diseases - epidemiology
Foot Diseases - pathology
Foot Diseases - therapy
Foot Diseases - veterinary
foot lesion
foot lesions
free stall
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
herd health
Hoof and Claw - pathology
hoof trimming
Housing, Animal - classification
Humans
lesions (animal)
Milk and cheese industries. Ice creams
Observer Variation
Ontario - epidemiology
Prevalence
Terrestrial animal productions
tie stall
Vertebrates
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Summary:The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to determine herd-level and cow-level prevalence estimates for 11 foot lesions in Ontario dairy cattle. Foot lesions were recorded by 5 hoof trimmers on 13,530 cows in 204 Ontario dairy herds from March 2004 to May 2005. Significant differences existed between free-stall and tie-stall housing. In free-stall housing systems, 46.4% of cows had a foot lesion, compared with 25.7% of cows in tie-stall barns. Digital dermatitis was the most common lesion in tie stalls, occurring in 9.3% of cows and 69.7% of the herds, whereas in free-stall herds, 22.7% of cows and 96.7% of the herds were affected. The most common hoof horn lesions were hemorrhages and ulcers, at 7.7 and 4.7% in tie-stall housing and 11.0 and 9.2% in free-stall housing, respectively. Foot blocks were used to treat 2.2% of cows in free stalls and 0.3% in tie stalls. Intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 9.5 to 17.3 for hoof horn lesions and 28.0 to 38.7 for infectious lesions. In summary, foot lesions diagnosed at the time of hoof trimming are common in Ontario, and appropriate treatment for hoof horn lesions is low.
ISSN:0022-0302
1525-3198
DOI:10.3168/jds.2008-1135