Herd-level risk factors for seven different foot lesions in Ontario Holstein cattle housed in tie stalls or free stalls

Abstract

Worldwide, there is considerable between-herd variation within individual foot lesion prevalence studies. This variation suggests that herd-level risk factors are important from a prevention perspective. The objective was to determine the effect of selected risk factors on the prevalence of 7 foot lesions in both tie-stall and free-stall housing systems. As part of a cross-sectional foot lesion study 5 hoof trimmers recorded lesions for all cows that were foot trimmed in a herd. In addition, they completed a risk factor questionnaire for each herd. The impact of specific risk factors was evaluated using separate multi-variable models for both free-stall and tie-stall herds. The lesions evaluated were digital dermatitis, sole ulcer, sole hemorrhage, heel horn erosion, white line separations, white line abscess, and interdigital fibroma. Model types were selected based on herd-level lesion distribution. Detrimental risk factors identified in free-stall housing included increased alley scraping frequency (2.2- to 2.4-fold for sole ulcers) and trimming in summer or fall (-0.2-fold vs. spring and winter for digital dermatitis). Protective risk factors in free stalls included intermediate bedding depth (0.4-fold for 2.5 to 7.5 cm vs. more or less bedding for interdigital fibroma) and trimming heifers before calving (0.1-fold for white line abscess). In tie-stall herds no protective risk factors were identified. Detrimental risk factors for lesions in tie stalls included year-round access to outside areas (2.1-fold increase in digital dermatitis, 3.5-fold for white line separation, and 7.0-fold for interdigital fibroma vs. no or only seasonal exercise access), routine spraying of feet (2.0-fold increase in digital dermatitis), larger herds (3.0-fold increase in interdigital fibroma vs. <41 cow herds), and the use of wood bedding material (6.5-fold vs. straw bedding for interdigital fibroma). The risk factors identified need further evaluation to determine the temporal relationships, as well as whether the relationships with foot lesions are causal.

Identifying risk factors for poor hind limb cleanliness in Danish loose-housed dairy cows

“…This indicates that the beneficial effects of pasture access depend on the conditions of the outdoor area. Decreased risks of heel horn erosions, interdigital dermatitis and DD have been found when pasture grazing systems are compared with indoor systems or systems with access to outdoor exercise areas (Wells et al, 1999;Somers et al, 2005;Cramer et al, 2009). The common interpretation of this relationship is that the pasture-based system provides the best hygienic conditions and the results from this study support this theory.…”

“…Moreover, it seems plausible that infectious diseases of the skin and hoof tissue can be caused by environmental pathogens and that unhygienic conditions may increase the prevalence by increasing the susceptibility of the skin, by amplifying the infection pressure, or both. The effect of different parameters affecting the cows' environment such as floor type, use of scrapers and access to outdoor paddocks have been evaluated in several studies indicating that poor hygienic conditions can be associated with an increased risk of digital dermatitis (DD) and heel horn erosions (Wells et al, 1999;Somers et al, 2005;Cramer et al, 2009).…”

Implications of Robotic Walkway Cleaning for Hoof Disorders in Dairy Cattle

“…Several studies found that short cleaning intervals considerably reduce manure on wa lkways and improve the cleanliness of dairy cattle and the housing environment [13,14,15]. This is inconsistent with the observations of Cramer et al [16] indicating that there was a negative relationship between the frequency of alley scraping and the prevalence of digital dermatit is. A previous study addressed hoof trauma caused by manure removing equip ment that may harm skin and horn barriers of the bovine feet [10].…”

Can automated measures of lying time help assess lameness and leg lesions on tie-stall dairy farms?

“…Lameness is widely recognized as a significant welfare problem for cows in free-stalls (von Keyserlingk et al, 2012) and tie-stalls (Bielfeldt et al, 2005;Cramer et 2009) caused by numerous factors including lying comfort, cubicle design, flooring type, time away from the pen for milking, body condition score (BCS), and nutrition Espejo and Endres, 2007). Hock and knee lesions are also common in cattle kept in tie-stalls (Zurbrigg et al, 2005), are more common among lame cattle (Zaffino Heyerhoff et al, 2014) and are also a common welfare concern (Rushen et al, 2008;von Keyserlingk et al, 2009).…”