June and July are among the busiest months on Irish farms. With silage, breeding and grazing management taking priority, minor hoof issues can easily be overlooked.
At HoofCare Direct, we know that minor hoof problems can lead to major catastrophes. Easily treatable conditions and injuries can develop into full blown lameness, and this can have an impact on your milk production and your profits as a result. Lameness should always be treated as a matter of urgency, and any damage or stress on the hooves should be addressed immediately as part of your animal maintenance routine. Let’s take a look at the true cost of delaying lameness treatment during the summer season.
Why Hoof Issues Need Addressing ASAP
Lameness is often missed in the early stages because farmers and workers are busy and are often distracted by other tasks, particularly in the busy silage season. However, when hoof issues are missed, they become harder to treat, and this can cause a bigger impact on your business. Here are just a few of the hidden costs of lameness:
- Reduced Milk Yield.
Did you know that lameness can significantly impact milk yields, reducing or halting production in affected animals? This is a serious and often overlooked problem, usually due to pain and stress in the animals concerned, and the cost of milk that has to be discarded due to medication may also be a factor here.
- Fertility Issues.
Cows that are lame often experience compromised fertility and reproductive issues, showing less oestrus behaviour and longer intervals between calving. This can have a big impact on your practice, especially if a large percentage of your herd is lame and can affect your business in the future.
- Increased Treatment.
Increased treatment costs and more intensive treatments are often required when lameness is not diagnosed and treated quickly, and this can also be a time-consuming process so can inflate labour costs, too.
- Cost of Culling.
The cost of replacing a culled cow can be more than €2,000, even if we look at the cost of culling alone, this is bad news for your business. Twenty to thirty percent of culls are the result of lameness, and this is a significant cost in itself as well as the cost of replacing the animal.
- Labour Costs.
You will notice dramatic increases to your labour costs when you have lame cows, as the time spent isolating them, treating them and monitoring their progress all adds up. This takes farm workers away from other tasks and increases for every cow that is lame. It is estimated that treating a single animal can take up to an hour and follow up care will add to this.
Lameness: The Early Signs and Solutions
You should never ignore the early signs of lameness. Early signs include limping, walking unevenly, shortening the stride, head bobbing, arching the back or behavioral changes. You should take action if you notice any of these symptoms, or any other sign that your animal is in pain, to protect your herd and your business.
We recommend DD-Delete Hoof Care Gel for early intervention, and our DD Delete Bundle includes a dispensing gun and two types of treatment gel to treat conditions such as mortellaro, white line disease and sole ulcers. We also stock an excellent range of wooden hoof blocks, to remove pressure from the affected claws, and hoof bandages to protect treated lesions.
Our Inspect4 Hoof Trimming Crates can help to streamline your practice by making hoof inspection and treatment safer and more efficient. We can show you how these work to make the whole process easier for you and for your cows, and you will find fixed hoof trimming crates and mobile hoof trimming crates on our website.
Quality Hoof Care Equipment At HoofCare Direct
Here at HoofCare Direct, you’ll find everything you need to inspect, maintain and protect the hooves of your herd, and we can help you find the best products for your practice. We stock a variety of maintenance tools, including hoof trimming knives, glues and blocks, and we also have a range of high-quality waterproof clothing to help you stay dry and comfortable while you work on the farm in all seasons. Give us a call today to find out more about our products or see a hoof trimming crate in action.