<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between body condition and claw diseases in dairy cows. The data used in this study were obtained during two sessions of routine orthopaedic treatment and hoof trimming on a dairy farm in Eastern Slovakia. In the spring and autumn terms, 482 dairy cows were examined for claw diseases and their body conditions were recorded. Out of the 482 dairy cows, 56 % were affected by one or more claw diseases in one or more legs. Digital dermatitis and sole ulcers were the most often detected claw diseases found in this study. The dairy cows with a low body condition score (BCS &lt; 3) showed a higher prevalence of claw diseases (P &lt; 0.05) than the cows with a body condition score greater than 3. However, this difference could not be found when infectious diseases of the claws (digital dermatitis, foot rot, and interdigital dermatitis) were analysed. The results of this study allowed us to conclude that the dairy cows with a lower grade of body condition suffered more from non-infectious claw diseases (sole ulcer, white line diseases).</p></abstract>

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between body condition and claw diseases in dairy cows. The data used in this study were obtained during two sessions of routine orthopaedic treatment and hoof trimming on a dairy farm in Eastern Slovakia. In the spring and autumn terms, 482 dairy cows were examined for claw diseases and their body conditions were recorded. Out of the 482 dairy cows, 56 % were affected by one or more claw diseases in one or more legs. Digital dermatitis and sole ulcers were the most often detected claw diseases found in this study. The dairy cows with a low body condition score (BCS < 3) showed a higher prevalence of claw diseases (P < 0.05) than the cows with a body condition score greater than 3. However, this difference could not be found when infectious diseases of the claws (digital dermatitis, foot rot, and interdigital dermatitis) were analysed. The results of this study allowed us to conclude that the dairy cows with a lower grade of body condition suffered more from non-infectious claw diseases (sole ulcer, white line diseases).

Prevalence of Claw Diseases in Dairy Cows with Different Body Condition

University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy

Folia Veterinaria

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

{"article-title":"Prevalence of Claw Diseases in Dairy Cows with Different Body Condition"}

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between body condition and claw diseases in dairy cows. The data used in this study were obtained during...

Prevalence of Claw Diseases in Dairy Cows with Different Body Condition

Published Online: Oct 11, 2017

Page range: 19 - 22

Received: Jun 13, 2017

Accepted: Jul 06, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/fv-2017-0023

Keywords
body condition score, claw diseases, dairy cows, lameness

© 2017 Mudroň, P. et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Prevalence of Claw Diseases in Dairy Cows with Different Body Condition

Published Online: Oct 11, 2017

Page range: 19 - 22

Received: Jun 13, 2017

Accepted: Jul 06, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/fv-2017-0023

Keywordsbody condition score, claw diseases, dairy cows, lameness

© 2017 Mudroň, P. et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
body condition score, claw diseases, dairy cows, lameness