Did you know that Digital Dermatitis, or Mortellaro, is an expensive problem to treat if your cattle become infected? You can save yourself a great deal of stress and money when you protect your animals from this frustrating infection. We know that foot conditions such as Digital Dermatitis can lead to lameness, reduced milk yield and pain, and we want to avoid this wherever possible.
Digital Dermatitis is caused by bacteria that infects the foot, presenting as lesions, warts or ulcers on the hooves. It is an extremely infectious condition and can cause pain and limit performance in your cattle. Changing your animal management practices can make a big difference to the health of your cattle and we can recommend several ways to make positive changes in your environment.
Treating Mortellaro or Digital Dermatitis
Mortellaro, or Digital Dermatitis, can be managed effectively by improving the hygiene practices on your farm. We recommend the following as standard practice, to keep hooves clean and well maintained and prevent infectious conditions such as Digital Dermatitis:
General cleanliness. Keeping all animal stalls clean and ensuring that animals have fresh bedding can make a huge difference to the health of your herd and you should ensure cleanliness throughout your yards and walkways at all times. Wherever animals walk, the ground should be level and free from debris and loose stones, as these can cause hoof damage that leads to infection. Ensuring that cows have enough space to move freely and that they are not put under pressure to compete for space, for example while walking to milking, will have many benefits for your animals, since overcrowding and competition can compromise deliberate foot placement, which can cause damage.
Regular footbaths. Ensuring that you use a regular footbath treatment is an easy way to protect your cattle, and we suggest using a reliable product like HealMax Footbath to prevent and treat infections such as Digital Dermatitis. HealMax Footbath should be used once per day for six days as a treatment, or for three days as a maintenance measure, and can be used on milking cows, dry cows, heifers and beef cattle. One 20L drum of HealMax will last for up to 1500 cow passes, and the solution does not use formaldehyde or harsh acid, so it is gentler on your animals, too.
Targeted treatment. If you are aware that some of your cattle are suffering with Digital Dermatitis, it’s important to treat them as quickly as possible to relieve the pain and help with healing. Products such as Intra Repiderma, a protective hoof and dermal spray, are ideal for treating cattle that have Digital Dermatitis or foot rot. Another option is the excellent Inspect4 Derm Paste, which should be applied to affected hooves with a bandage. We also recommend HealMax Gel, a reliable and easy to use formula that is directly applied to the infected area of the hoof using a handheld applicator, hardening hooves to prevent further injury.
Regular maintenance. Keeping your cattle clean and ensuring that their hooves are well trimmed will help to maintain good health in your herd. We recommend the Inspect4 Hoof Trimming Crate, which was designed by farmers to make light work of regular hoof care and can simplify the process of identifying and treating foot problems. The fixed rollover crate and the mobile rollover crate make single handed operations possible, ensuring that both the animal being treated, and the human operator are comfortable throughout the process.
We have all the bandages and hoof trimming equipment you need in our range, and we’ll be very happy to share our expertise and advise you on the best options for your herd.
Cattle Hoof Care Solutions in Ireland at HoofCare Direct
Ensuring that your cattle have healthy hooves all year round can be a big responsibility, and we will help you to check every aspect of your practice to see where you can make improvements for healthier animals. We believe that it is important to identify and treat problems such as Digital Dermatitis as soon as possible to protect your animals and your livelihood, and our rollover crates and treatment products are invaluable here.
At HoofCare Direct, our products give you a head start in taking care of your herd and we will always be happy to give you a demonstration of the Inspect4 Mobile Hoof Trimming Crate and the Inspect4 Fixed Hoof Trimming Crate in action. We have an extensive range of products for cattle hoof trimming, as well as medications, advice and more. Give us a call today or enquire online to find out more.