Paring

Mobility-scoring of cows should be undertaken on the farm in combination with hoof-trimming and adequate foot bathing.

Mobility-scoring will give cows a score of zero to three, ranging from normal to severely lame. It should be used to identify and treat cows early.

Here we look at how to carry out some early paring of the hoof to prevent further damage and how to set up your footbath to ensure the best results.

When it comes to preventative actions, farmers will often carry out some paring of the hooves on cows that have a mobility score of one or two. For cows with more severe lameness issues, a professional trimmer may be required. Indications of lameness are cows taking short strides, a cow with an uneven weight bearing and cows humped up while they are walking.

Teagasc research technician Noel Byrne discusses how to manage cows with a low locomotion score.

This hoof shown here is from a cow that was observed as having a mobility score of two and so was slightly lame and would benefit from treatment.

“There is a bit of damage at the heel, it is very wet and moist and this is probably where the issue is arising,” according to Noel.

“However, looking at the rest of the hoof we can identify other issues. Firstly there may be a black area on the toe. This is generally pigmentation and not bruising. Bruising tends to be of a reddish colour.

“Another area to look at is white line disease and while we have a small bit of white line damage here this is not significant.

“A few quick runs of the knife have changed the look of the hoof completely and it looks much healthier now. The foot has changed completely. That said, a small bit of erosion is evident at the heel and perhaps looking towards running the herd through a footbath could be an option,” Noel said.

By paring back the hoof it is much easier to identify if there is any significant hoof damage. Carrying out some slight paring at this stage can be a very useful tool to prevent lameness issues developing.

Concrete footbath

Where a footbath is being used, it should always be part of the route for cows when exiting the parlour. If the footbath is set up in such a way that cows must be diverted to go through it, the result can be a reduction in cow flow. A good footbath design will ensure good cow flow while reducing contamination of the solution.

The design of a footbath is very important, with a shift towards concrete footbaths in recent years. Plastic designs can be another option. However, they can have an uneven surface and the noise may make cows nervous.

Cows naturally like even surfaces. This is why the floor of the footbath should be at exactly the same level as the concrete both before and after the footbath.

The edges of the footbath should also be flat as it is easier for cows to walk across and will prevent slipping. It is recommended that the edges are at least 20cm wide to allow cows step on them if required.

The footbath itself should be 1.5m wide and at least 2.5m long. If it is too short then only one foot will go into it. Issues do arise with having a footbath this wide, however, as it can lead to a large amount of solution being required and from a practical point of view this can increase costs significantly. This is particularly relevant with smaller herds.

Volume of the footbath

The volume of the footbath depends on the size of the herd. As a general rule of thumb, there should be 1l of solution per cow in the herd.

When calculating the volume of the solution it is important to use the internal measurements of the footbath.

The solution should be a minimum depth of 8-10cm, up to a maximum of 20cm. It is also important that the footbath is easily cleaned with an adequately sized drain plug at the lowest corner.

This is to ensure that all contamination can be emptied from the footbath. Having a tap fixed close to the footbath will also allow for ease of filling.

All products will work if used properly at the right dilution rate and if the bath is kept clean.

Cost

A more common footbath for Irish herds is the one shown here, which measures 2.4m internal length and 900mm internal width. This type of footbath has a capacity of 260l, so would be suited to approximately 250 cows. The footbath shown is supplied by Murphy Concrete and costs €450 + VAT. Another option is to construct a footbath using a line of blocks when developing the yard. However, for existing yards the mass concrete design may be a more convenient solution.