Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-k7p5g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-11T09:08:42.386Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Farm managers underestimate lameness prevalence in Czech dairy herds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

R Šárová ,
I Stěhulová ,
P Kratinová ,
P Firla  and
M Špinka
R Šárová*
Affiliation:
Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00 Prague, Uhříněves, Czech Republic
I Stěhulová
Affiliation:
Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00 Prague, Uhříněves, Czech Republic
P Kratinová
Affiliation:
Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00 Prague, Uhříněves, Czech Republic
P Firla
Affiliation:
Experimental Farm, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00 Prague, Uhříněves, Czech Republic
M Špinka
Affiliation:
Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00 Prague, Uhříněves, Czech Republic
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: sarova.radka@vuzv.cz
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Lameness is one of the most serious health and welfare problems faced by dairy cattle. The aim of this study was to assess how aware Czech farm managers were of this problem. The project was carried out on 14 Czech dairy farms. The proportion of lame cows observed (ie prevalence of moderate and severe lameness) on a farm varied between 9 and 64% while the farm managers’ estimation ranged between 0 and 20%, showing that lameness prevalence was under-perceived by the Czech farm managers. There were no correlations between the farm managers’ estimations and the observed total or severe lameness on each farm. Also, the observed prevalence of lameness did not differ between farms with managers who considered lameness to be a major problem in their herds and managers who did not, although their estimations did differ. The large variation in observed lameness prevalence between farms indicates that there is a large potential for reduction, which must start with increasing the farm managers’ awareness of dairy cow lameness.

Keywords

animal welfareawarenessdairy cowslamenesson-farm assessmentprevalence
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 20 , Issue 2 , May 2011 , pp. 201 - 204
Copyright
© 2011 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bicalho, RC, Vokey, F, Erb, HN and Guard, CL 2007 Visual locomotion scoring in the first seventy days in milk: impact on pregnancy and survival. Journal of Dairy Science 90: 4586–4591CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Booth, CJ, Warnick, LD, Grohn, YT, Maizon, DO, Guard, CI and Janssen, D 2004 Effect of lameness on culling in dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 87: 4115–4122CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cochran, WG 1977 Sampling Techniques, Third Edition. Wiley & Sons: New York, USAGoogle Scholar
Collick, DW, Ward, WR and Dobson, H 1989 Association between types of lameness and fertility. Veterinary Record 125(5): 103–106CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dembele, I, Špinka, M, Stěhulová, I, Panamá, J and Firla, P 2006 Factors contributing to the incidence and prevalence of lameness on Czech dairy farms. Czech Journal of Animal Science 51: 102–109CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dippel, S, Dolezal, M, Brenninkmeyer, C, Brinkman, J, March, S, Knierim, U and Winckler, C 2009 Risk factors for lameness in freestall-housed dairy cows across two breeds, farming systems, and countries. Journal of Dairy Science 92: 5476–5486CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ettema, JF and ⊘stergaard, S 2006 Economic decision making on prevention and control of clinical lameness in Danish dairy herds. Livestock Science 102: 92–106CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green, LE, Hedges, VJ, Schukken, YH, Blowey, RW and Packington, AJ 2002 The impact of clinical lameness on the milk yield of dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 85: 2250–2256CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hassall, SA, Ward, WR and Murray, RD 1993 Effects of lameness on the behaviour of cows during the summer. Veterinary Record 132: 578–580CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Juarez, ST, Robinson, PH, Depeters, EJ and Price, EO 2003 Impact of lameness on behavior and productivity of lactating Holstein cows. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 83: 1–14CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kilic, N, Ceylan, A, Serin, I and Gokbulut, C 2007 Possible interaction between lameness, fertility, some minerals, and vitamin E in dairy cows. Bulletin of the Veterinary Institute in Pulawy 51: 425–429Google Scholar
Leach, KA 2009 Web-based lameness control programme for dairy cattle. In: Butterworth, A, Blokhuis, H, Jones, B and Veissier, I (eds) Delivering Animal Welfare and Quality: Transparency in the Food Production Chain. Proceedings of the Welfare Quality Stakeholders’ Conference pp 10. 8-9 October 2009, Uppsala, SwedenGoogle Scholar
March, S, Brinkmann, J and Winckler, C 2006 Improving ‘self-assessment’ of lameness prevalence by organic dairy farmers — preliminary results from a coaching study in Germany. 14th International Symposium on Lameness in Ruminants. 8-11 November 2006, Colonia, UruguayGoogle Scholar
Mills, JM and Ward, WR 1994 Lameness in dairy cows and farmers’ knowledge, training and awareness. Veterinary Record 134: 162–164CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ozsvari, L, Barna, R and Visnyei, L 2007 Economic losses due to bovine foot diseases in large-scale Holstein-Friesian dairy herds. Magyar Allatorvosok Lapja 129: 23–28Google Scholar
Sogstad, ÅM, ⊘sterås, O, Fjledaas, T and Nafstad, O 2006 Bovine claw and limb disorders related to culling and carcass characteristics. Livestock Science 106: 87–95CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, SL, Smith, RF, Jones, DN, Routly, JE and Dobson, H 2008a Chronic stress, hormone profiles and oestrus intensity in dairy cattle. Hormones and Behavior 53: 493–501CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Walker, SL, Smith, RF, Routly, JE, Jones, DN, Morris, MJ and Dobson, H 2008b Lameness, activity time-budget, and oestrus expression in dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 91: 4552–4559CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warnick, LD, Janssen, D, Guard, CL and Grohn, YT 2001 The effect of lameness on milk production in dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 84: 1988–1997CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Welfare Quality® 2009 Welfare Quality® Assessment Protocol for Cattle. Welfare Quality® Consortium: Lelystad, The NetherlandsGoogle Scholar
Wells, SJ, Trent, AM, Marsh, WE and Robinson, RA 1993 Prevalence and severity of lameness in lactating dairy cows in a sample of Minnesota and Wisconsin herds. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 202: 78–82Google Scholar
Whay, HR, Main, DCJ, Green, LE and Webster, AJF 2002 Farmer perception of lameness prevalence. In: Shearer, JK (ed) Proceedings of the 12th International Symposium on Lameness in Ruminants pp 355–358. 9-13 January 2002, USAGoogle Scholar
Whay, HR, Main, DCJ, Green, LE and Webster, AJF 2003 Assessment of dairy cattle welfare using animal-based measurements. Veterinary Record 153: 197–202CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Whay, HR, Waterman, AE, Webster, AJF and O’Brien, JK 1998 The influence of lesion type on duration of hyperalgesia associated with hind-limb lameness in dairy cattle. Veterinary Journal 156: 23–29CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zeddies, J, Munz, J and Fuch, C 1997 Economic aspects of the use of veterinary drugs and veterinary treatments. Praktische Tierarzt 78: 44–51Google Scholar