Digital dermatitis, an infectious hoof disease, and non-infectious hoof challenges, like white line disease, thin soles and sole ulcers, are common occurrences across dairies that often go undetected until it is too late. Did you know nutrition can enable or prevent lameness issues in your herd?
Hoof health determines profitability
Lost productivity is a consequence of poor hoof health. Lameness cuts profits and wastes the time and money invested into the herd. Cows dealing with hoof issues require extra time, labor and treatment expenses – which costs an estimated $100 to $300 for each lameness event. It takes anywhere from two days to two weeks to start seeing the benefits of a lameness repair, depending on the lesion. Additionally, affected cows are more likely to have a shorter productive lifespan and be culled sooner.
A lame cow will take fewer trips to the feedbunk and have lower dry matter intake (DMI), resulting in decreased milk output. Additionally, lame cows will experience a drop in reproductive performance. As a result of discomfort when standing and walking, signs of cows in standing heat are less likely to be present and the open window increases.
Leverage trace minerals to prevent lameness
How can you avoid these preventable losses and make sure cows do not fall victim to lameness? A nutrition program can be tailored to establish and protect hoof health. Proven trace minerals paired with management can keep lameness out of the herd and support each cow to perform at her best.
Feeding the herd with the goal of preventing lameness will also provide improvements in other key production areas including feed efficiency, pregnancy rate, days open and somatic cell count (SCC). Trace minerals are an essential ingredient for hoof health and can reduce lameness by 35%. To support hoof health, a complete nutrition program should include:
- Zinc – Needed for skin barrier integrity, hoof formation and hoof keratinization.
- Manganese – Important for connective tissue formation, cell membrane production and wound healing speed.
- Copper – Improves immunity and is active in neutrophil and phagocyte production. Copper also supports protein synthesis and vitamin metabolism.
- Iodine – Improves local inflammatory responses and can reduce lesion size and occurrence.
Nutrition is a critical tool for preventing lameness, but can only be leveraged for the best results when paired with proper management. To keep lameness low, prioritizing frequent herd lameness evaluations will detect problems early and prevent escalation, giving cows a better chance to recover and stay in the herd. Scanning the herd for hoof problems can be a shared responsibility across the dairy’s team. Employees should be trained in locomotion scoring and know the signs of early lameness. Working with an experienced hoof trimmer, one can conduct maintenance trims on each animal twice a year and evaluate hoof health over time. Keeping records of trims can help discover issues, identify potential causes and benchmark progress.
Managing the environment for cow comfort is also key to making the most of trace mineral nutrition and preventing hoof issues. Minimizing overcrowding and providing properly sized beds with comfortable bedding can keep from excessive standing and avoids conditions that exacerbate lameness such as heat stress. Evaluating facilities for things like broken concrete and not pushing cows too aggressively can also avoid added incidents of damage to the hoof. Footbaths are also a preventative tool that can help combat any infectious hoof issues. If using a footbath, make sure it is mixed to the proper concentration and consistency recommended on the label.
By pairing trace mineral nutrition and effective management, one can stop lameness from being an obstacle to the herd’s health and profitability. To enact a proactive nutrition strategy, work with an expert who can help analyze the herd’s specific needs and work alongside the dairy team to identify barriers and strategize and implement hoof trimming and management plans. Taking the time to evaluate the herd and make sure hoof-benefitting trace minerals are present in the ration will keep lameness away for greater profitability, performance and well-being.
