When you consider that the leading cause of culling of dairy cows in France is related to leg problems, the farmer's eye should immediately be drawn to the floor of his barn. Indeed, the risk of infection is never far from the floor of the barn, which can be a veritable breeding ground for bacteria, conducive to the appearance of panaritis or other digitis dermatitis. But it's above all the hardness of the floors in the corridors and concrete cubicles that is to blame. Unsuited to the physiology of the cows' feet, they weaken the dairy cows' feet, making them more susceptible to bacterial attack and then, through a domino effect, impacting on the productivity of the workshop. And what if contributing to the well-being of your cows meant reconsidering the quality of your barn surfaces?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cows spend 8 to 12 hours a day on their feet. Simply placing their feet on a hard cement or asphalt floor causes shocks to the joints and consequent abrasion of the hooves. Repeated impact can lead to abnormal horn growth and the appearance of bony outgrowths responsible for chronic, often irreversible lameness. These traumas are even more pronounced in primiparous animals, which lack the genetic capacity to produce foot pads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On hard soils, the slightest pebble can trigger foot pathology in dairy cows. Indeed, a small wound on a surface with a high infectious potential (numerous bacteria present in animal droppings) can quickly lead to lameness in the cow. Trimming is a one-off solution which, unfortunately, does not solve the problem at the root of the lameness: the hardness of the ground, which is not suited to the physiology of the cow's feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n