title: The effects on claw health of supplement feeding grazing dairy cows on feed pads.
abstract: The effects of feeding and management systems on the health and welfare of grazing dairy cows were investigated by comparing the claw health of cows fed grain during milking and pasture silage in the paddock (Control), with cows fed a grain-based partial mixed ration (PMR) on a concrete feed pad. Cows were assessed on three occasions during lactation: (1) early lactation (20-81 days in milk [DIM]) before allocation to feeding treatments; (2) mid-lactation (97-158 DIM) immediately following an intensive feeding experiment, and (3) late lactation (173-243 DIM) several months after return to initial management groups. At the final examination, claw puncture resistance was measured. The results showed that for the most prevalent lesions (white line disease, paintbrush haemorrhage and traumatic bruising), there was no effect of feeding system or amount of supplement on the presence of the moderate to severe forms in early lactation, but cows were more likely to have a particular lesion at the second assessment if it was present in early lactation. Puncture resistance of the claw was not related to presence of a lesion for any of the most prevalent lesion types. It was concluded for this herd that for most indicators of claw health, there was no overall effect of different feeding systems (supplement fed during milking or on a feed pad) or amount of supplement.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Melbourne, 250 Princes Highway, Werribee, Victoria 3030, Australia; Animal Welfare Science Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia. Electronic address: coombejoanne@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Joanne E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Coombe
authors.forename: Michael F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Pyman
authors.forename: Peter D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Mansell
authors.forename: Martin J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Auldist
authors.forename: Garry A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Wales
authors.forename: Jakob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Malmo
authors.forename: Melanie J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Conley
authors.forename: Andrew D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Fisher
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D003612:Dairying / Q000379:methods*; D004032:Diet / Q000662:veterinary; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005534:Foot Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D006724:Hoof and Claw / Q000502:physiology; D007774:Lactation; D007794:Lameness, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D008124:Locomotion / Q000187:drug effects*; D011897:Random Allocation; D014739:Victoria / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Dairy cow; Feed pad; Lameness; Pasture based