Improving floor quality to reduce lameness problems
Lameness is a rapidly increasing problem on dairy farms. Leg and foot problems have become the third most common pathology after mastitis and infertility. Foot health and production performance are linked in dairy cows. An animal with foot injuries, that limps, will move less to eat and drink. Its immune status will be deficient. The cow will therefore not fully express its production potential.
Stakeholders in the livestock industry are mobilizing to contain lameness problems, including the development of preventative trimming and the consideration of foot health in the indexing of breeding animals. Thus, since 2014 and the launch of the Génosanté program, selection organizations have integrated health indexes into their selection criteria for future breeding animals. These genetic health indexes combine information on the risk of acetonemia, reproduction, udder health and foot health. Their objective is to offer more resistant breeding animals to improve the health of cows and thus strengthen their technical and economic performance. The foot health index is based on seven diseases: infectious diseases (interdigital dermatitis, foot rot, heel erosion) and non-infectious diseases (diffuse sole bruising, circumscribed sole bruising, white line opening, sole ulcer).
Better describing foot lesions to better combat them
Genomics makes it possible to select the most interesting breeding animals by reading their genome. When a new criterion is integrated, such as foot health, the link between the genome and the expression of this characteristic must be made. This is what was done through Parabov, a scientific project initiated and financed by France Génétique Elevage, which made it possible to develop a reference framework for the collection of lesion data on feet. Carried out on 12,458 cattle, this inventory of foot lesions has a dual interest: to provide the dairyman with a lesion assessment of his herd (to identify the number and type of lesions in order to know what to prioritize) and to collect information for selection by linking the phenotype, in this case leg problems, and the genotyping of the animals.
Evaluating the impact of a floor change
For animals that spend the majority of their time indoors, the type of flooring and the risk of injury are linked. In straw-bedded areas, there will be more sole bruising and interdigital phlegmon. In a stall and slurry system, there will be more problems with digital dermatitis. In order to evaluate the benefits of a change of flooring, lesions on the front and rear feet of 141 cows were analyzed based on the Parabov methodology. Between the two parings, which were used to observe these lesions, Magellan mats were installed in the traffic lane. At the second paring, it was observed that 80% of the lesions had healed, but 8.6% had worsened. More specifically, 80% of digital dermatitis or Mortellaro's disease lesions were healing. The presence of lesions due to Mortellaro's disease decreased from 30 to 18%. The number of diffuse sole bruising lesions decreased from 30% to 15%.
With a draining rubber mat, such as the Magellan mat, excrement is more easily evacuated. When the hooves are dry and clean, there is less risk of disease developing. In addition, the grooves facilitate the removal of small stones, which are rejected in the droppings. These stones can cause injuries to the sole. These injuries, although small, will be the gateway for germs.
Covering part of the concrete in your barn with flexible Magellan mats reduces the risk of injury and lameness, contributing to the good health, well-being and full production of your herd.
