HERD HEALTH

It’s human nature to love a celebration – whether it’s your favourite sports team winning the big game, a party for a long-awaited engagement or a milestone birthday bash. Why should celebrating major successes on your dairy be any different?

Happy cows have healthy teats. Keeping your herd’s udder health in tip-top shape, however, is proving to be more challenging. If your cows are experiencing dry and cracked teats, you can guarantee two things are happening:

With the goal of increased efficiencies, many dairy producers are considering renovations or expanding their current buildings. The decisions they make today will affect the hoof health of the herd for decades to come.

Among the many risk factors associated with digital dermatitis, manure and slurry can be a source of infection by digital dermatitis-associated bacteria. However, survival and growth of these bacteria can be limited by providing an environment as clean and dry as possible.

“The thoughtless person playing with penicillin treatment is morally responsible for the death of the man who succumbs to infection with the penicillin-resistant organism. I hope this evil can be averted.”

—Sir Alexander Fleming, Scottish physician and microbiologist who discovered penicillin

Defining the ‘lame cow’

Lameness is a clinical sign due to an injury or disease of the foot or leg. In a study the Calgary Lameness Research Team performed across Canada in 2011, on average 20 percent of dairy cows housed in freestall barns walked lame, with a range of 0 to 69 percent.