Are you a druggy? I mean are you using too many antibiotics on your cows. It is not a good idea to reach out for drugs as soon as you see a lame cow. I know that some of you do that. Lame dairy cows hardly ever need antibiotics. Even when you trim a cow and you see some pus coming out of the wound you often don’t need penicillin. On the other hand there are cases of dairy cow lameness that only antibiotics can fix. So what is the difference?

Dairy Cow Lameness - the Autonomy of the Foot

Let's have another look at the autonomy of the foot. Around all the live tissue inside a body grows the skin.The function of the skin is to be a barrier between the outside world and the live tissue inside the body. Most of the skin grows hair but at the bottom of the feet this skin grows the horny tissue that we call “claw”. When we trim a cows foot and we see some pus coming out it is more likely that it comes from the outside of the skin (corium). In this case it is still a superficial infection and the corium is still doing that part of its job properly. It just isn’t growing horn.

However, if the bacteria manage to get through the corium then you have an issue that requires antibiotics in dairy cow lameness. In these cases the foot would be swollen up and warm. Your veterinarian can advise you which antibiotics to use. There is a big difference between an infection in the inter-digital space (foot rot) and an infection in just one claw, which often enter into the claw at the white line in the heel area. Different types of antibiotics should be used. However, because dairy cow lameness is often a superficial issue antibiotics are not always necessary

Dairy Cow Lameness - Removing Weight from the Claw

Cows that just have a superficial infection just need a proper trim. The idea is to remove as much weight as possible from that claw so as to allow the air to dry the wound out; if it is not possible to create enough height difference naturally then you can glue a claw block to the healthy claw to remove all the weight off the sore one. In these cases Penicillin won’t help, potentially making things worse and even put you at risk.  Let me explain...

If penicillin is used a lot then the bacteria begins to build up a resistance to it,especially when the course isn’t finished and cows are getting only half the doses that they need. With these new immune bacteria we now have a super bug. People can get infected by these bacteria and if that happens what are the doctors going to use to get rid of it? The usual antibiotics don’t work anymore. You may think that this is a bit farfetched. Well it is already happening. You would have heard of the supper bug in the hospitals. Scientists believe that the MRSA (staphylococcal aureus) bacterium is being spread by farm staff as well as in hospitals. This just shows that we need to be careful with the use of antibiotics when we treat dairy cow lameness. Only use it when you really need it. Thanks for reading this article on dairy cow lameness. To find out more about preventing dairy cow lameness call us on 0800 833 463.

Fred Hoekstra - Dairy Cow Lameness Expert

 

Lameness in Dairy Cows - A Quality Team Aids Prevention