A Longitudinal Field Trial of the Effect of Biotin on Lameness in Dairy Cows

Hedges, J.W.; Blowey, Roger; Packington, A.J.; O’Callaghan, C.J.; Green, Laura

doi:10.3168/jds.s0022-0302(01)74639-5

Cited by 97 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Sufficient levels of minerals in the feed are known to be essential in improving hoof quality. Studies on biotin did find no effects on IDHE but did find effects on SoH and WLD (Hedges et al, 2001;Bergsten et al, 2003).…”

Section: Estimating Effects Of Intervention Measuresmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…A disadvantage is the high prevalence and incidence of foot disorders (clinical and subclinical; Hedges et al, 2001;Somers et al, 2003), which cause high economic losses (Bruijnis et al, 2010;Ettema et al, 2010) and also seriously impair the welfare of dairy cattle (Bruijnis et al, 2012). The different foot disorders are present in varying severities and have multifactorial risk factors, making it a difficult health problem to combat (Ward, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Measures to improve dairy cow foot health: consequences for farmer income and dairy cow welfare

Bruijnis

Hogeveen

Stassen

2013

Animal

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Dairy farming in western countries with cubicle housing is an efficient way of dairy farming. Though, a disadvantage is the high prevalence and incidence of foot disorders (clinical and subclinical), which cause high economic losses and also seriously impair the welfare of dairy cattle. To point out the importance of reducing the amount and severity of foot disorders, advice to farmers should include information about the scale of the problem and the consequences in terms of economics and animal welfare. To provide support in making decisions on implementing intervention measures, insight into costs and benefits of different measures should be available. The objective of this study, therefore, is to provide more insight into the costs and benefits, for farmer and cow, of different intervention measures to improve dairy cow foot health. Intervention measures were modeled when they were applicable on a dairy farm with cubicle housing and when sufficient information was available in literature. Net costs were calculated as the difference between the costs of the measure and the economic benefits resulting from the measure. Welfare benefits were calculated as well. Cost-effective measures are: improving lying surface (mattress and bedding, h7 and h1/cow per year, respectively), reducing stocking density (break even) and performing additional foot trimming (h1/cow per year). Simultaneously, these measures have a relative high welfare benefit. Labor costs play an important role in the cost-effectiveness of labor-intensive measures. More insight into cost-effectiveness and welfare benefits of intervention measures can help to prioritize when choosing between intervention measures.

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Section: Estimating Effects Of Intervention Measuresmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measures to improve dairy cow foot health: consequences for farmer income and dairy cow welfare

Bruijnis

Hogeveen

Stassen

2013

Animal

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“…Η ευ νοϊκή επίδραση της βιοτινης στη δομή της κεράτινης και τη φυσιολογική λειτουργία της χηλής των βοοει δών (Midla et al 1998, Blowey et al 2000, Green and Mulling 2005) και των χοίρων (Bryant et al 1985), αλ λά και της οπλής των ίππων (Josseck et al 1995), είναι γνωστή. Ιδιαίτερα για τις χηλές των βοοειδών, οι Hedges et al (2001) αναφέρουν ότι η ημερήσια συμ πληρωματική χορήγηση βιοτινης (20 mg/ημέρα) σχε τίζεται με μειωμένη πιθανότητα εμφάνισης της νόσου της λευκής γραμμής. Η βιοτινη παράγεται από τη μι κροβιακή χλωρίδα της μεγάλης κοιλίας και του εντέ ρου (Da Costa et al 1998), σε ποσότητες συνήθως ε παρκείς για να καλύψουν τις ανάγκες των ζώων.…”

Section: δ ιατροφήunclassified

Predisposing factors of sheep lameness

Gelasakis¹,

Valergakis²,

Arsenos³

2017

J Hellenic Vet Med Soc

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Lameness is a major health problem in sheep flocks worldwide. It is associated with reduced productivity and welfare of lame animals within a flock. The consequences of lameness on production have been studied in meat and wool producing breeds, but the available research studies are limited. In dairy breeds of sheep the problem has not been investigated. Lameness can be the result of many causes, but it is mostly associated with foot lesions. With the exception of systemic diseases, a number of predisposing factors seem to dictate the epidemiology of lameness. Here, these factors are grouped in two major categories: a) genetic factors that are attributed to individual animals and b) environmental factors that affect the prevalence of lameness within the flock. In this review, different approaches to counteract those factors are presented. In principle, appropriate genetic selection, together with the implementation of preventive measures, could reduce the negative consequences of those factors. Nutrition is a fundamental factor associated with the health of the foot and the animal in general. Hence, the formulation of a balanced rationis crucial, because deficiencies in specific nutrients, involved in the keratinization of hoof wall, could predispose to lameness. The latter could be also associated with inappropriate housing conditions (e.g. bedding, ventilation). In particular, moisture has been identified as an important predisposing factor for foot lesions. Flock management (e.g. foot trimming, foot bathing), particularly in intensively reared sheep, can also affect the prevalence of lameness. Moreover, the implementation of biosecurity measures at farm level could eliminate the possibility of infectious footrot from purchased animals. In conclusion, the implementation of any preventive measures against the predisposing factors of lameness implies that the farmer is aware of the importance and the consequences of lameness in his flock. The role of the veterinarian is also important. The veterinarian should not focus only on the diagnosis and the treatment of lame animals, but should also try to educate the farmer on the epizootiology of the problem.

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“…The incidence of lameness is reported to be over 50% (Hedges et al, 2001). Preventive strategies and therapeutic treatments are available, but dairy farmers may not put these measures into action (Bell et al, 2009) as they tend to underestimate the problem (Whay et al, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the welfare impact of foot disorders in dairy cattle by a modeling approach

Bruijnis

Beerda

Hogeveen

et al. 2012

Animal

120

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Foot disorders are the main cause of dairy cow lameness and are considered to have a major impact on the welfare of dairy cattle. This study adopts a modeling approach, using a dynamic stochastic model, to provide more insight into the welfare impact of different types of foot disorders, both clinical and subclinical. The impact of specific foot disorders on welfare was assessed by simulating the incidence and duration of foot disorders and the pain associated with them. Pain assessment was based on locomotion scores, with underlying knowledge obtained from scientific literature and experts. The results demonstrated the seriousness of the welfare impact of foot disorders. The negative welfare impact was measured on a scale from 0 to 60, where the maximum outcome represents a cow having very severe pain during the whole year. On average, each cow achieves a welfare impact score of 12, which is 20% of the maximum welfare impact score. This welfare score equals having severe pain for a period of 3 months, indicating a serious impact on welfare. On average, digital dermatitis impacts most on welfare, which is caused by a high incidence of the painful clinical stage, followed by sole hemorrhages (SoH) and interdigital dermatitis and heel horn erosion (IDHE). The combination of a high incidence and long duration of SoH and IDHE causes this relatively high welfare impact of foot disorders that occur mostly subclinically. On average, over 1 year, 46% of the welfare impact due to foot disorders is caused by clinical foot disorders. The fact that subclinical foot disorders contribute more or less equally to the effects on welfare as clinical ones, indicates that farmers may readily underestimate the welfare impact by a factor two. Modeling welfare impact at cow level, individual cases of foot disorders, stresses the importance of pain intensity, indicating the importance of clinical foot disorders. This study demonstrated the serious welfare impact of foot disorders in dairy cattle and pointed out the considerable impact of subclinical foot disorders. Furthermore, the approach of welfare assessment, for example herd v. cow level, influenced the ranking of foot disorders for their impact on animal welfare. Potentially, this leads to different prioritization of specific solution strategies for dairy farmers, for example, focusing on cow comfort, hygiene or preventive medical treatments, foot trimming and/or health monitoring. The findings in this study support in raising awareness about this welfare issue.

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A Longitudinal Field Trial of the Effect of Biotin on Lameness in Dairy Cows

Cited by 97 publications

References 11 publications

Measures to improve dairy cow foot health: consequences for farmer income and dairy cow welfare

Measures to improve dairy cow foot health: consequences for farmer income and dairy cow welfare

Predisposing factors of sheep lameness

Assessing the welfare impact of foot disorders in dairy cattle by a modeling approach

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