Open AccessCritical points assessment of hoof lesion manifestation in dairy cows: a preliminary study of a new scoring system
Author(s) -
Luca Turini,
Alessio Madrigali,
Micaela Sgorbini,
Chiara Orsetti,
Awad Rizk,
Francesca Bonelli
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
veterinarski arhiv
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.233
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 1331-8055
pISSN - 0372-5480
DOI - 10.24099/vet.arhiv.1048
Subject(s) - lameness , claw , hoof , dairy cattle , medicine , herd , animal welfare , foot (prosody) , veterinary medicine , physical therapy , surgery , zoology , biology , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , anatomy
Lameness is a serious animal welfare and production issue in the modern dairy herds. The development of a scoring system that is able to categorize the farm on the basis of its hazard risk level may help clinicians and farmers to identify potential issues and to reduce costs caused by lameness. The aim of this study was to develop an easy and fast score for evaluation of the structural and managerial factors potentially involved in the pathogenesis of foot lesions, and categorization of dairy farms. A total of six free-stall dairy farms were evaluated during a 3 month-period. The score developed in this study was composed of evaluation of the housing system, flooring, the farm design, the use of footbaths, the frequency of hoof trimming, and the continuing education of the employers. For each parameter, a score of 0 to 2 was assigned where the score 0 meant the least appropriate condition, the score 2 represented the best. The Farm Score showed a significant correlation with foot lesion prevalence (P = 0.0011, R2 0.94) and with the theoretical assessment of additional cost per animal (P = 0.001, R2 0.95). The significant correlation between the Farm Score, the foot lesion prevalence and the theoretical assessment of additional costs per animal may underline the potential usefulness of the score designed in this study. The Farm Score may be considered as a cheap and fast way to evaluate the hazard risk level for claw health on a dairy farm.