Foot lameness in dairy goats

Christodoulopoulos, G.

doi:10.1016/j.rvsc.2008.07.013

Cited by 44 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Based on the current information, it is difficult to determine if members of the Actinomycetaceae are relevant to DD. Trueperella is not usually associated with DD; however, one species from this genus, Trueperella pyogenes, has been implicated in infectious conditions manifesting in lameness in sheep and goat populations (17,18). Other bacterial families with significantly higher abundance in DD herds, such as Staphylococcaceae, Aerococcaceae, and Corynebacteriaceae, are usually associated with the skin microbiota of healthy feet (4,14) and are thus most likely of no importance to the development of DD.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbiota Analysis of an Environmental Slurry and Its Potential Role as a Reservoir of Bovine Digital Dermatitis Pathogens

Klitgaard

Strube

Isbrand

et al. 2017

Appl Environ Microbiol

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At present, very little information exists regarding what role the environmental slurry may play as an infection reservoir and/or route of transmission for bovine digital dermatitis (DD), a disease which is a global problem in dairy herds. To investigate whether DD-related bacteria belong to the indigenous microbiota of the dairy herd environment, we used deep amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene in 135 slurry samples collected from different sites in 22 dairy farms, with and without DD-infected cows. Both the general bacterial populations and digital dermatitisassociated Treponema were targeted in this study. The results revealed significant differences in the bacterial communities between the herds, with only 12 bacterial taxa shared across at least 80% of all the individual samples. These differences in the herd microbiota appeared to reflect mainly between-herd variation. Not surprisingly, the slurry was dominated by ubiquitous gastrointestinal bacteria, such as Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae. Despite the low relative abundance of spirochetes, which ranged from 0 to 0.6%, we were able to detect small amounts of bacterial DNA from DD-associated treponemes in the slurry. However, the DDassociated Treponema spp. were detected only in samples from herds with reported DD problems. These data indicate that treponemes involved in the pathogenesis of DD are not part of the normal environmental microflora in dairy herds without clinical DD and, consequently, that slurry is not a primary reservoir of infection.IMPORTANCE Bovine digital dermatitis (DD), a dermal disease which causes lameness in dairy cattle, is a serious problem worldwide. To control this disease, the infection reservoirs and transmission routes of DD pathogens need to be clarified. The dairy herd slurry may be a pathogen reservoir of DD-associated bacteria. The rationale for the present study was, therefore, to examine whether DD-associated bacteria are always present in slurry or if they are found only in DD-afflicted herds. The results strongly indicated that DD Treponema spp. are not part of the indigenous slurry and, therefore, do not comprise an infection reservoir in healthy herds. This study applied next-generation sequencing technology to decipher the microbial compositions of environmental slurry of dairy herds with and without digital dermatitis.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbiota Analysis of an Environmental Slurry and Its Potential Role as a Reservoir of Bovine Digital Dermatitis Pathogens

Klitgaard

Strube

Isbrand

et al. 2017

Appl Environ Microbiol

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“…In comparison with other studies, the average prevalence was similar to that found by Anzuino et al (2010) in UK farms (3.2%), but higher than the prevalence found in Norway by Muri et al (2013), who observed only 1.7% of lame goats. The low prevalence of Severe lameness in Norwegian farms may be explained by the fact that lameness is strongly influenced by season: wet and rainy seasons negatively affect the quality of straw bedding and increase the occurrence of lameness (Christodoulopoulos 2009). Goats in Norway are conventionally kept indoors in insulated buildings (Simensen & Bøe 2003), which facilitate a good management of bedding that remains generally dry.…”

Section: Group-level Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Results of testing the prototype of the AWIN welfare assessment protocol for dairy goats in 30 intensive farms in Northern Italy

Battini

Barbieri

Vieira

et al. 2016

Italian Journal of Animal Science

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The AWIN project aimed at developing an on-farm welfare assessment protocol for adult dairy goats. A prototype protocol was tested in 30 intensive dairy goat farms to evaluate its feasibility in farms of different size. Time for applying the prototype was recorded and any other constraint was taken into account. Moreover, data collected during the prototype testing provided information on the prevalence of welfare issues in intensive dairy goat farms in Northern Italy. The prototype included 25 animal-based indicators (14 group-and 11 individual-level indicators). The prototype showed a good on-farm feasibility and it was highly accepted among stakeholders, as its application did not interfere with the daily routine. Approximately 2 h were required for the application of the prototype. When feeding racks were available, using them for locking the animals during the individual assessment resulted advantageous to speed the data collection and to reduce handling stress to the goats and disturbance to the farmers. Farm size and different management systems influenced the prevalence of some indicators, with small farms in general better welfare conditions compared to larger farms. The results of the present study represent an important starting point to set up an epidemiological database that may lead to improve the welfare status of goats. ARTICLE HISTORY

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“…Lameness is taken into consideration in several papers, as it is an important indicator of pain (O'Callaghan et al, 2003) and may lower productivity in dairy goats by reducing milk yield (Hill et al, 1997;Christodoulopoulos, 2009) and fertility (Hill et al, 1997;Eze, 2002;Christodoulopoulos, 2009), as well as contributing to pregnancy toxemia (Lima et al, 2012a) and neonatal diseases (Eze, 2002), and hence premature culling (Hill et al, 1997). The main causes of lameness in intensively kept dairy goats are claw overgrowth with or without deformation and diseases affecting the limb joints, such as caprine arthritis-encephalitis (CAE) and caprine contagious agalactia (Bergonier et al, 1997;Hill et al, 1997;Smith and Sherman, 2009;Winter, 2011).…”

Section: Absence Of Injuriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invited review: Animal-based indicators for on-farm welfare assessment for dairy goats

Battini

Vieira

Barbieri

et al. 2014

Journal of Dairy Science

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This paper reviews animal-based welfare indicators to develop a valid, reliable, and feasible on-farm welfare assessment protocol for dairy goats. The indicators were considered in the light of the 4 accepted principles (good feeding, good housing, good health, appropriate behavior) subdivided into 12 criteria developed by the European Welfare Quality program. We will only examine the practical indicators to be used on-farm, excluding those requiring the use of specific instruments or laboratory analysis and those that are recorded at the slaughterhouse. Body condition score, hair coat condition, and queuing at the feed barrier or at the drinker seem the most promising indicators for the assessment of the "good feeding" principle. As to "good housing," some indicators were considered promising for assessing "comfort around resting" (e.g., resting in contact with a wall) or "thermal comfort" (e.g., panting score for the detection of heat stress and shivering score for the detection of cold stress). Several indicators related to "good health," such as lameness, claw overgrowth, presence of external abscesses, and hair coat condition, were identified. As to the "appropriate behavior" principle, different criteria have been identified: agonistic behavior is largely used as the "expression of social behavior" criterion, but it is often not feasible for on-farm assessment. Latency to first contact and the avoidance distance test can be used as criteria for assessing the quality of the human-animal relationship. Qualitative behavior assessment seems to be a promising indicator for addressing the "positive emotional state" criterion. Promising indicators were identified for most of the considered criteria; however, no valid indicator has been identified for "expression of other behaviors." Interobserver reliability has rarely been assessed and warrants further attention; in contrast, short-term intraobserver reliability is frequently assessed and some studies consider mid- and long-term reliability. The feasibility of most of the reviewed indicators in commercial farms still needs to be carefully evaluated, as several studies were performed under experimental conditions. Our review highlights some aspects of goat welfare that have been widely studied, but some indicators need to be investigated further and drafted before being included in a valid, reliable, and feasible welfare assessment protocol. The indicators selected and examined may be an invaluable starting point for the development of an on-farm welfare assessment protocol for dairy goats.

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Foot lameness in dairy goats

Cited by 44 publications

References 6 publications

Microbiota Analysis of an Environmental Slurry and Its Potential Role as a Reservoir of Bovine Digital Dermatitis Pathogens

Microbiota Analysis of an Environmental Slurry and Its Potential Role as a Reservoir of Bovine Digital Dermatitis Pathogens

Results of testing the prototype of the AWIN welfare assessment protocol for dairy goats in 30 intensive farms in Northern Italy

Invited review: Animal-based indicators for on-farm welfare assessment for dairy goats

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