Healthy hooves in the walking area
of the barn
Is a lame cow a productive cow? A lame cow CAN be productive, but for how long?
Your cows should be able to walk as naturally as possible – long confident strides with the head straight up – when indoors. The natural environment, grazing in a field is not always possible on today’s confined dairy farms, but you can make your cows as comfortable as possible when lying, standing and walking.
This can be difficult on concrete floors, which are typically wet, dirty, hard and rough, as they put unnecessary stress on hooves. This can be a major contributing factor to lameness – a costly and time-consuming health issue. Combining effective, non-slip floor coverage with manure removal and proactive hoof management, such as footbaths and regular trimming, can virtually eradicate claw related problems.
Lameness is one of the main reasons for culling cows. By making rubber coverage part of your hoof care programme, you won’t have to worry about this question so often.
Giving your cows a little more space and a softer, cleaner surface to walk on will help to keep your cows healthy and productive.
Read more on the impact of the walking area on your cows' health on www.milkproduction.com
