A study on the prevalence of cracked claws among beef cows

Abstract

[165][166][167][168] (Mar. 1992) NW Alberta. These herds were chosen as they were participating in a pasture cost study that was already in progress, and were considered representative of the cows in the region. A total of 1183 cows were involved.In each herd the following information was collected: cow identifrcation, age, breed or cross, body weight at entry and exit and body condition score. In addition, the fore limbs and claws of cows being weighed were examined for the presence or absence of vertical cracks (prevalence), the number of cracks (intensity) and the degree of separation (severity). The severity of cracks (SC) was scored on a scale of 1-3, where I : least severe, hairline vertical crack,2 : visible separation up to 3 mm and 3 : most severe, separation greater than 3 mm (Fig. 1) The prevalence, intensity and severity were based on each claw and as such, there were two claws per hoof (inside and outside) for the right and left forelimbs. The forelimbs were sampled due to the difficulties in examining the hind limbs during weighing and as 86% of the cracks were found on the forelimbs in a previous study (Westra 1981

A Cross-Sectional Epizootiological Study and Risk Assessment of Foot-Related Lesions and Lameness in Intensive Dairy Sheep Farms

“…Poor wool quality could be linked to a higher prevalence of hoof wall cracks, due to the fact that keratin of both wool and hoof horn have similar low-and highsulfur protein fractions [67][68][69]; however, this was not confirmed by the model applied in our study. In dairy cows, a much lower prevalence (1.0%) of hoof wall cracks has been found, compared to beef cows (64.0%), mainly in the outer, front hooves associated with the gait pattern and the charging of the front limbs [66,70]. In our study, no significant differences were found between the clusters, front/rear limbs and hooves, and inner/outer hooves, whereas none of the traits assessed as risk factors had a significant effect.…”

Aetiopathogenesis of sandcrack in cattle and its treatment

“…The incidence of sandcracks in UK dairy cattle is less than 1% (Murray et al, 1996); its frequency in beef herds is unknown. In North America, its prevalence in dairy cattle is very low but around 20% in beef cattle: 60–80% of fissures are found on the lateral claw of the forelimb (Hand et al, 1992). Goonewardene and Hand (1995) identified a variety and combination of risk factors for this lesion: it occurred in older, heavier and fatter cows more towards the end of the outdoor grazing season, and over‐feeding cattle at critical stages of their production, or continuously throughout life, was detrimental to good claw horn growth and function.…”

A study of hoof cracks in grazing cattle — association of age, weight and fatness

“…Mots cl6s: Fissures aux onglons, fr6quence, intensit6, gravit6, Age, poids, embonpoint ln 1992 we reported a study in which the prevalence of hoof (sand) cracks in the forelimbs of cows in Alberta was determined at 22.7 % (Hand et al 1992). The occurrence of hoof problems has been attributed to load and weight (Peterse 1987), locomotion, floor design and type (Metz and Weirenga 1987;Murphy et al 1987), age (Brinks etal, 1979;Westra 1981), nutrition (Greenough et al 1972), and genetics (Brinks et al 1979).…”