1. Nutritional management
Nutritional management of dairy cows plays an important role in reducing hoof and limb disease of dairy cows. Rumen acidosis is one of the main causes of laminitis. It should be noted that the content of non-structural carbohydrates should not exceed 45%, and the dietary fiber content should be adequate. According to experience, the composition of general forage should account for more than one-third of the dry matter intake of lactating cows. If TMR diet is used, attention should be paid to mixing uniformly. TMR screening showed that the proportion of each layer was appropriate and the diet was stable.
Besides, trace elements and vitamins are also very important for hoof health. Zinc benefits for keratinocyte growth. The recommended dosage is 40 mg/kg. It binds to vitamin A in the liver. The latter plays an important role in maintaining epithelial tissue and cell replication. Lack of copper or excessive ingestion of molybdenum can increase the number of limping cows. It can be seen that the joints of cows become larger. The recommended dosage of copper is more than 10 mg/kg.
Under the condition of high temperature and humidity in summer, the feed is easy to ferment and heat, so the feed should be prepared well before feeding, not several hours in advance, to prevent hoof and limb diseases caused by spoiled feed, and the feed trough should be cleaned in time before each feeding to ensure its clean, and when necessary, the disinfection of the feed trough should also be done well.
2. Breeding selection
While selecting bulls with high performance, functional indicators of hoof and limb traits should also be considered to help cattle improve their hoof and limb from the germplasm and reduce the occurrence of hoof and limb diseases.
Hygiene.
With the increase of humidity in summer, it is especially necessary to clean up the feces in time and to evaluate the environment of cows' hooves and limbs by the proportion of the score of hoof and limb hygiene assessment. When the feces exceed the hoof coronal zone, it will affect the health of cows' hooves. When more than 3 points exceed 10%, environmental improvement measures must be taken to improve hoof and limb hygiene.
Non-slip.
It is also easy to cause slippery cement ground when wet. When cows often slip or have more injuries on the outside of the hoof, the ground grinding and anti-skid work should be done in time to reduce the risk of falling and physical damage to the hoof bottom.
Dry.
While cleaning the road surface and cowshed, ventilation should be done as far as possible and disinfection should be carried out regularly to ensure the dryness of cattle moving places, such as cowbed, cowshed, passageway, and wait-milking hall, to reduce bacterial breeding and reproduction.
Soft.
To relieve the pressure on the soles of cows' hooves, rubber pads should be provided in the passages, cow beds and wait-milking hall where cows often walk. When rubber pads were used, it was found that the incidence of joint swelling in cowshed without rubber pads was three times as high as that of cows with rubber pads. Increased comfort means increased rest time and better performance. Grazing farms should regularly clean up sharp objects and small stones, to prevent dairy cattle from stabbing in grazing. Newly hoofed dairy cows should not move on the cement floor for the first two weeks and should be kept in soft and comfortable areas as far as possible.
To relieve the pressure on the soles of cows' hooves, rubber pads should be provided in the passages, cow beds and wait-milking hall where cows often walk. When rubber pads were used, it was found that the incidence of joint swelling in cowshed without rubber pads was three times as high as that of cows with rubber pads. Increased comfort means increased rest time and better performance. Grazing farms should regularly clean up sharp objects and small stones, to prevent dairy cattle from stabbing in grazing. Newly hoofed dairy cows should not move on the cement floor for the first two weeks and should be kept in soft and comfortable areas as far as possible.
4. Nursing
Hoof bath.
An effective hoof bath can prevent hoof-shoe inflammation and reduce the incidence of infectious hoof disease. However, the management of the hoof bath is very important and must meet certain conditions to maximize the effect of the hoof bath.
Foot care process.
Limping→Examination / Hoof trimming→Review nursing once a week→After 30 days, the walking index was normal and cured, but after a long period of treatment without recovery, it was eliminated.
Preventive care.
To ensure the normal hoof shape and standing posture of dairy cows, it is generally necessary to trim the hoof preventively. There are two ways of the time to repair. One is to correct hoof shape before the rapid increase of body mass, to ensure the normal production in a later period, that is, to start hoof shape trim in new dry dairy cows and 120 days after delivery. The other is to perform seasonal hoof trim in spring and autumn every year, in which the keratin of hoof grows fast and recovers quickly after the trim. However, no matter which mode of repair is used, an excessive trim of hooves should not be done to prevent the hoof sole from being too thin and damaged.