Computerised claw trimming database programs as the basis for monitoring hoof health in dairy herds

[The Swiss Claw Health Project - an interim assessment after 5 years]

SUBJECT AND AIMS

The Swiss Claw Health Project (SCHP) started on 1 January 2019 and will last a total of 8 years. The main goals of the SCHP are (a) digital recording of claw health data of cattle in Switzerland by 100 professional claw trimmers, (b) development of claw health programs, (c) improvement of cattle claw health in Switzerland, (d) development of breeding values for claw health and (e) reduction of antibiotic use to control claw health problems.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Data was collected digitally by 45 hoof trimmers who had previously successfully completed the training program for diagnosis and digital documentation in accordance with the ICAR Claw Health Atlas. The national animal health database was further developed for data storage. Livestock farms with unfavorable claw health were offered an on farm analysis with subsequent annual support visits.

RESULTS

A total of 1155 cattle owners joined the project by the end of the 5th project year. The claw health data of 149753 claw trimmings at cow-level was recorded, and 176 individual visits and analyses of farms with claw health issues were carried out. A health program for mechanical and metabolism-related claw disorders was developed and successfully established. Biosecurity measures during claw trimming were analyzed, and a brochure with recommendations for claw trimmers was developed. Risk factors for the occurrence of digital dermatitis in dairy herds were identified. The prevalence of alarm lesions (painful lesions) decreased significantly and continuously in the participating farms over the project years 2 to 4.

CONCLUSIONS

The scientific project support proved to be extremely useful, as the progress of the project was continuously monitored, and new issues could be addressed promptly. Digitally recorded findings during herd hoof trimming are essential for monitoring and improving claw health.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

This description and critical assessment of the SKGP procedure can be used by other consortia planning a similar project.

The influence of productivity indicators on the culling of dairy cows in the sharply continental climate of Kazakhstan

This article presents the results of the culling of cows of the Simmental and Holstein breeds in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The purpose of the research was to study the actual number of culled cows of dairy productivity in the farms of the Republic of Kazakhstan to determine its norm. The object of research were cows of Simmental (18,462 heads) and Holstein (17,862 heads) breeds in various regions of the republic. The research was carried out according to generally accepted zootechnical methods using statistical data processing using RStudio. The results of the studies showed that the percentage of culling increases in cows of the Simmental and Holstein breeds and amounts to 19.7 and 22.9%, respectively. The analysis of the retirement of full-aged cows of the Simmental breed showed that the main causes are hoof diseases (up to 26%), low reproductive function (up to 21%), low productivity (up to 18%). Holstein cows had an increase in disposals in all categories except for disposals for various reasons, for problems with reproduction, the disposal is up to 21%. The determination of the relationship between productivity and retirement in the Simmental breed cows showed that with age and increased lactation, the proportion of retired cows also increases, in the Holstein breed, with increased productivity, the percentage of culled animals also increases.

Effects of High Concentrate-Induced Subacute Ruminal Acidosis Severity on Claw Health in First-Lactation Holstein Cows

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of diet-induced subacute rumen acidosis (SARA) severity during transition and the early lactation period on claw health in 24 first-lactation Holstein heifers. All heifers were fed a 30% concentrate (in dry matter) close-up ration three weeks before calving, then switched to a high-concentrate ration (60% dry matter), which was fed until the 70th day in milk (DIM) to induce SARA. Thereafter, all cows were fed the same post-SARA ration with around 36% concentrate in dry matter. Hoof trimming was performed before calving (visit 1), at 70 (visit 2) and at 160 DIM (visit 3). All claw lesions were recorded, and a Cow Claw Score (CCS) was calculated for each cow. Locomotion scores (LCS 1-5) were assessed at two-week intervals. Intraruminal sensors for continuous pH measurements were used to determine SARA (pH below 5.8 for more than 330 min in 24 h). The cluster analysis grouped the cows retrospectively into light (≤11%; n = 9), moderate (>11-<30%; n = 7), and severe (>30%; n = 8) SARA groups, based on the percentage of days individual cows experienced SARA. Statistically significant differences were found between SARA groups light and severe in terms of lameness incidence (p = 0.023), but not for LCS and claw lesion prevalence. Further, the analysis of maximum likelihood estimates revealed that for each day experiencing SARA, the likelihood of becoming lame increased by 2.52% (p = 0.0257). A significant increase in white line lesion prevalence was observed between visits 2 and 3 in the severe SARA group. The mean CCS in severe SARA group cows were higher at each visit compared to cows in the other two groups, but without statistical significance. Overall, this is the first study indicating that first-lactation cows fed a similar high-concentrate diet but with a higher severity of SARA tended to have poorer claw health, albeit with only partial statistical evidence.

Benchmarking Based on Regularly Recorded Claw Health Data of Austrian Dairy Cattle for Implementation in the Cattle Data Network (RDV)

While benchmarking is already used for the assessment of performance gaps in cattle herd management and welfare concerns, its application to quantifying claw health performance is relatively new. The goal here was to establish a benchmarking system for claw health in Austrian dairy cattle. We used electronically registered claw health data of cows from 512 dairy herds documented by professional hoof trimmers, culling data from the same herds, and locomotion scores taken at regular milk performance testings in 99 dairy herds during 2020. Mean, median and the 10th, 25th, 75th, and 90th percentiles of the incidences of risk of lameness, 13 common claw lesions, and the annual culling risk directly related to claw and limb disorders were used as key performance indicators. Only validated data sets were used and participating trimmers and locomotion scorers had to pass interobserver reliability tests with weighted Cohen's kappa values ≥ 0.61 indicating substantial interobserver agreement. This claw health benchmarking system is intended to be used henceforth in the transnational cattle data network (RDV) by all participating farmers and is also available for veterinarians and consultants, with the agreement of respective farmers.

Status of claw recordings and claw health in Danish dairy cattle from 2013 to 2017

Since 2009, Danish claw trimmers have been able to record claw health digitally during trimming. The records are owned by the farmer and can be used locally in the herd and on a large scale by breeding organisations to improve claw health. The objective of this study was to describe data on claw recording routines and describe the prevalence of digital dermatitis (DD), interdigital hyperplasia (IH), sole ulcer (SU) and white line abscess (WLA) recorded by claw trimmers (TrimmerID) at trimming. More than 5.18 million records of cows with claw recordings and 2.75 million records of claw trimming with 2.4 million concurrent claw diseases from 62 TrimmerIDs from 705,803 animals from 1635 herds over a 5-year period from 2013 to 2017 were included in the dataset. Data on cow level was used for the descriptive statistics. The data was restricted to, and grouped by, heifers from 12 months of age, first, second and third or older parity cows from the breeds Holstein, Danish Red Dairy, Jersey and crossbreds. The number of recorded trimmings per TrimmerID per year varied from 132 to 48,040 with a mean of 9556 and increased during the period studied. The overall prevalence across breed and parity groups of DD, IH, SU and WLA was 21%, 6%, 7% and 3%, respectively. The prevalence of the lesions remained quite constant during the 5-year period. DD was recorded in 95% of the herds in 2017. The prevalence of IH, SU and WLA increased with increasing parity. Digital recording of claw lesions may be a good indicator of claw health. However, the recording routines and quality of the recordings must be considered.

Claw Trimming as a Lameness Management Practice and the Association with Welfare and Production in Dairy Cows

Lameness resulting from claw lesions remains a pressing welfare issue in dairy cows. Claw trimming (CT) is a common practice for prevention and management of clinically lame cows. This review summarizes the results of studies that have investigated various claw trimming (CT) methods, their application in lameness management, and associations with the welfare and production of dairy cows. The papers included in this review fulfilled the following inclusion criteria: published in peer review journal or book chapter within the last 20 years (1999-2019), written in English, and focused on the application of CT for lameness management and the association with either welfare or production variables. Databases used included Google scholar, Web of Science and PubMed. A total of 748 records were assessed and 61 papers were eligible for inclusion and the main objectives and results were used to categorize the results under six topics: CT techniques, association between CT and claw overgrowth/specific claw lesions, timing and frequency of CT, association between CT and behavioral variables, association between CT and physiological parameters, and association between CT and production. The literature findings showed the existence of various CT methods with the common types including the Dutch Five-step, White Line, White Line Atlas, and Kansas techniques. There is data paucity on the efficacy of these techniques in lameness management; however, the slight procedural difference yields varying sole thicknesses and presentations which may influence their prophylactic use. Results regarding the impact of CT on welfare and production were discussed in relation to potential short and long-term benefits. Depending on the lesion type and severity level, CT may induce immediate painful sensation, stress, changes in lying down activities and reduction in milk yield, but the positive impacts were more evident at later stages of lactation following improvement in locomotion score. The majority of the reviewed studies were lacking a detailed description of CT techniques and claw health of the studied animals; thus, reducing the strength of demonstrating CT-related benefits. However, electronic recording of claw health data during every CT visit provides the basis for monitoring hoof health and could assist in curtailing some of these challenges. To elucidate CT-related benefits, certain areas requiring further research were highlighted such as ascertaining the appropriate timing for preventive CT and identifying cows that will benefit more from such intervention during lactation.

Prevalence of thin soles in the hind limbs of dairy cows housed on fully-floored vs. partially-floored mastic asphalt areas in Austria

Excessive sole horn wear in cattle due to abrasive floors, such as new concrete and mastic asphalt, and excessive sole trimming, are the leading causes of thin soles. This study compared prevalence of thin soles in Austrian dairy cows in six herds housed on fully-floored mastic asphalt (FMA) or partially-floored mastic asphalt (PMA). All cows had last received hoof trimming at least 5 months before the study commenced. Sole horn thickness of the hind claws was measured ultrasonographically in 97 cows at two points on each claw: (1) point 1 exactly at the tip of the pedal bone surface; and (2) point 2 approximately 3cm caudally. Locomotion was scored in all cows and claw lesions were categorised using a computerized claw trimming database program and evaluated at cow- and claw-level. An ANCOVA-model was applied to calculate the effects of different factors (breed, age, farm, days in milk) and covariates on sole horn thickness. The cut-off measurement for thin soles was defined as ≤4.5mm, in accordance with a recent study. Regarding claw health, FMA areas were inferior to PMA areas in barn installations. In cows on FMA, the prevalence of thin soles was significantly higher (P=0.01) and mean sole horn thickness at point 1 was significantly lower (P=0.01) than cows on PMA (59.7% vs. 12.5%; 5.35 mm vs. 6.63 mm, respectively). There were also significantly more lame cows on FMA than on PMA (P=0.01). The FMA group had higher prevalences of white-line disease (59.6% vs. 25%; P=0.01) and toe ulcers (12.3% vs. 0%; P=0.02) than the PMA group.

Aspects of lameness in pasture based dairy systems

Pasture-based dairy systems are implemented all over the world. Access to pasture is perceived to be advantageous for animal welfare in western societies. However, the benefits of grazing on lameness are not uniformly verifiable. This is related to the challenges that grazing cows face which are different from zero-grazing systems to some extent, but may nevertheless be deleterious. The distribution of lesion types comparing housed and pastured cattle differs between studies. This may be caused by differences in how strongly certain risk factors apply in these studies. Major risk factors for lameness in grazing cattle are related to the risk of trauma, for example from long walking distances and lack of track maintenance, and cow factors such as the adaptability of certain breeds to the grazing lifestyle. The consequences of lameness are similar to zero-grazing cattle and negatively affect animal welfare and productivity.

Frequency and distribution of foot lesions identified during cattle hoof trimming in the Province of Antioquia, Colombia (2011-2016)

Lameness is a severe welfare problem in cattle and has a detrimental effect on longevity, productivity, and reproductive performance. This study aimed to describe the frequency and distribution of foot lesions in cattle using hoof trimming records over a period of 6 years in the Province of Antioquia (Colombia). The data collection instrument enabled differentiation between limbs, digits, and views. The Claw Lesion Identification in Dairy Cattle brochure was the reference for foot lesion identification. A total of 1814 foot lesions observations, recorded from 1120 cows in 71 herds, were analyzed and 11 different foot lesions were identified. Non-infectious foot lesions were more common than infectious (94.4 vs 5.6%). White line disease was more frequently observed in the hind limbs (79.6%) compared to the front limbs (20.4%), and more frequent in medial claws of the front limbs (70.3%) compared to lateral claws (29.7%). In hind limbs, the lateral claws were more commonly affected (65.7%) compared to the medial claws (34.3%). Claw zone 3 was affected in 61.3% of the cases, followed by zones 2 (21.7%) and 1 (17%). Although our data are from a limited area of the country, they are consistent with published and anecdotal reports of foot lesions in cattle in Colombia and worldwide. Our results suggest that there is need for additional prospective research under Colombian dairy cattle management conditions to better understand the lameness and benefit of trimming intervention.

Pathogenesis and Treatment of Toe Lesions in Cattle Including "Nonhealing" Toe Lesions

Toe lesions in cattle include apical white line disease, thin soles, toe ulcers, toe necrosis, digital dermatitis-associated toe ulcers/toe necrosis, and fracture of the claw capsule and the apex of the distal phalanx. For anatomic reasons, the early stages of toe abnormalities (thin sole, apical white line disease, toe ulcer) are at risk of developing into a bone infection. The prevalence of toe lesions differs in dairy herds and feedlots: it is low at the animal level in feedlots and dairies; however, the herd prevalence of toe lesions can reach 50% in dairy herds with endemic digital dermatitis infection.

Prevalence and distribution of foot lesions in dairy cattle in Alberta, Canada

The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to determine the prevalence and distribution of foot lesions and associated cow- and herd-level risk factors in dairy cows in Alberta, Canada. Foot lesion data were recorded electronically by 7 hoof trimmers on 28,607 cows in 156 dairy farms from June 2009 to November 2012. Foot lesion prevalence estimates differed between farms that had the whole herd trimmed at once (≥80% of lactating cows were trimmed; n=69 farms and 8,020 cows) and farms on which part of the herd was trimmed (selection of cows was determined by farmer and <80% of lactating cows were trimmed; n=87 and 20,587 cows). Estimates were consistently higher for the latter likely because farmers presumably prioritized lame cows in partial-herd trims. On farms with whole-herd trims, digital dermatitis was the most common lesion among all housing types, present in 15% of cows and 94% of herds. Sole ulcers and white line disease were detected in 6 and 4% of the cows and 92 and 93% of herds, respectively. Other infectious and claw horn lesions each affected 1 to 2% of cows and 62 to 78% of herds. Intraclass correlation coefficients for hoof trimmers ranged from 0.01 to 0.20 for all lesions, indicating some clustering of recorded lesions by trimmer. Multilevel mixed logistic regression models were constructed (including hoof trimmer as fixed and farm as random effects) for the 3 most frequently identified lesions. Prevalence of digital dermatitis decreased with increasing parity, but this effect interacted with days in milk (DIM); primiparous cows had higher odds of digital dermatitis in mid lactation (100-199 DIM) and late lactation (≥200 DIM) compared with cows at other stages of lactation. In contrast, prevalence of sole ulcers and white line disease increased with increasing parity; compared with cows in parity 1, those in parity 4 had 5 or 7 times higher odds of having these lesions, respectively. Cows in mid lactation and late lactation had higher odds of sole ulcers and white line disease than cows at other stages of lactation, regardless of parity. Digital dermatitis prevalence was 2 times higher in herds housed in barns with access to an exercise area. The odds of sole ulcers and white line disease were ≥2 times higher in cows housed in freestalls than those housed in deep-bedded packs. Therefore, preventive measures for control of digital dermatitis merit emphasis, especially in primiparous cows and on farms with exercise areas. In addition, improving housing environment by providing a deep-bedded area for older cows in mid lactation or late lactation could reduce prevalence of claw horn lesions. We inferred that foot lesion data recorded by hoof trimmers can provide useful information not only to develop effective foot health programs at herd level, but also for disease surveillance and genetic improvement at regional and national levels.

Effect of routine claw trimming on claw temperature in dairy cows measured by infrared thermography

Infrared thermography (IRT) was used to assess the effect of routine claw trimming on claw temperature. In total, 648 IRT observations each were collected from 81 cows housed in 6 tiestalls before and 3 wk after claw trimming. The feet were classified as either healthy (nonlesion group, n = 182) or affected with infectious foot disorders (group IFD, n = 142). The maximal surface temperatures of the coronary band and skin and the difference of the maximal temperatures (ΔT) between the lateral and medial claws of the respective foot were assessed. Linear mixed models, correcting for the hierarchical structure of the data, ambient temperature, and infectious status of the claws, were developed to evaluate the effect of time in relation to the trimming event (d 0 versus d 21) and claw (medial versus lateral). Front feet and hind feet were analyzed separately. Ambient temperature and infectious foot status were identified as external and internal factors, respectively, that significantly affected claw temperature. Before claw trimming, the lateral claws of the hind feet were significantly warmer compared with the medial claws, whereas such a difference was not evident for the claws of the front feet. At d 21, ΔT of the hind feet was reduced by ≥ 0.25 °C, whereas it was increased by ≤ 0.13 °C in the front feet compared with d 0. Therefore, trimming was associated with a remarkable decrease of ΔT of the hind claws. Equalizing the weight bearing of the hind feet by routine claw trimming is associated with a measurable reduction of ΔT between the paired hind claws.

Invited review: overview of new traits and phenotyping strategies in dairy cattle with a focus on functional traits

For several decades, breeding goals in dairy cattle focussed on increased milk production. However, many functional traits have negative genetic correlations with milk yield, and reductions in genetic merit for health and fitness have been observed. Herd management has been challenged to compensate for these effects and to balance fertility, udder health and metabolic diseases against increased production to maximize profit without compromising welfare. Functional traits, such as direct information on cow health, have also become more important because of growing concern about animal well-being and consumer demands for healthy and natural products. There are major concerns about the impact of drugs used in veterinary medicine on the spread of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria that can negatively impact human health. Sustainability and efficiency are also increasingly important because of the growing competition for high-quality, plant-based sources of energy and protein. Disruptions to global environments because of climate change may encourage yet more emphasis on these traits. To be successful, it is vital that there be a balance between the effort required for data recording and subsequent benefits. The motivation of farmers and other stakeholders involved in documentation and recording is essential to ensure good data quality. To keep labour costs reasonable, existing data sources should be used as much as possible. Examples include the use of milk composition data to provide additional information about the metabolic status or energy balance of the animals. Recent advances in the use of mid-infrared spectroscopy to measure milk have shown considerable promise, and may provide cost-effective alternative phenotypes for difficult or expensive-to-measure traits, such as feed efficiency. There are other valuable data sources in countries that have compulsory documentation of veterinary treatments and drug use. Additional sources of data outside of the farm include, for example, slaughter houses (meat composition and quality) and veterinary labs (specific pathogens, viral loads). At the farm level, many data are available from automated and semi-automated milking and management systems. Electronic devices measuring physiological status or activity parameters can be used to predict events such as oestrus, and also behavioural traits. Challenges concerning the predictive biology of indicator traits or standardization need to be solved. To develop effective selection programmes for new traits, the development of large databases is necessary so that high-reliability breeding values can be estimated. For expensive-to-record traits, extensive phenotyping in combination with genotyping of females is a possibility.