Concentration of minerals in the hoof horny capsule of healthy and lame dairy cows

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the mineral concentrations in the hoof horny capsule of healthy Holstein cows and cows with hoof problems associated with laminitis. Twenty-one multiparous Holstein cows with an average production of 24 L of milk/day, reared with semi-extensive nutritional management, were studied. The animals were evaluated and divided into two groups based on their locomotion score (LS, range: 0 to 4). LS greater than 2 indicated laminitis-associated lesions (lame cow group: LC), and LS = 0 indicated cows without laminitis (CWL). A sample of 30 mm 2 was collected from the hoof horny capsule at the abaxial wall to evaluate the concentrations of calcium, phosphorus, zinc, and magnesium. Calcium blood concentration was also evaluated. The LC group had lower magnesium concentration (P=0.008) and showed a trend (P=0.06) for lower calcium concentration compared to healthy animals (CWL), even though all animals were normocalcemic. The concentration of other minerals did not differ between the LC and CWL group. In conclusion, the magnesium concentration in the hoof horny capsule was lower in cows with lesions associated with laminitis, while phosphorus and zinc concentrations were not affected. The relationship between hoof lesions and calcium concentration requires further investigation.

Prepartum lameness on subsequent lactation in Holstein dairy cows

“…Subjective observational methods, such as LS and EBCS, have been extensively employed for the assessment of different degrees of lameness and nutritional status in the cattle population. However, during the prepartum period, no studies have been done on the relationship between BCS x LS and milk production (BARBOSA et al, 2016). In the present study it is evident that; although, the animals presented the same BCS at 30 days prior to calving, the cows with lameness showed greater BCS losses during the first months of lactation.…”

“…It can be speculated that the occurrence of prepartum lameness induces a higher postpartum BCS loss. This may have resulted in a reduction in the cushioning offered by the digital cushion, thus giving these animals even greater susceptibility to the negative effects of lameness (BARBOSA et al, 2016).…”

“…This fact was explained by BARBOSA et al, (2016) where the epidermal cell differentiation showed high sensitivity to changes in the levels of plasma calcium. This study showed that in the cows with hypocalcemia, the corneal layer tissues were deficient in keratinization, from which the part played by calcium on epidermal cell differentiation was deduced.…”

“…The availability of reports on the prevalence of lameness in the herd (CHAPINAL et al, 2014) may facilitate a reduction in the occurrence of foot disorders in the properties, thus facilitating the execution of locomotion score (LS) and body condition score (BCS), key factors in control. Benchmarking is another tool that permits a relative performance assessment, which analyzes the results based on the comparative position, relative to the others (BICALHO et al, 2009;MORIARTY, 2011;BOGETOFT, 2012;BARBOSA et al, 2016).…”

“…Subjective observational assessment methods such as the LS and BCS, for example, have been widely used in population assessments of the different degrees of lameness and nutritional status of the animals. These methods are easy to apply and facilitate monitoring without any cost involved (BARBOSA et al, 2016). However, running this tool during the dry or non-lactating period has been applied rather rarely, often because of the lack of attention being paid to the care of the animals at this time.…”