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SLU publication database (SLUpub) (stage, solr2:8984)

Abstract

Importance of flooring system for heifers before calving and for first calvers, regarding claw conformation, locomotion, claw and leg lesions, was studied experimentally in a commercial dairy herd. Heifers of about 12 months of age, were blocked to breed and age, and randomly allocated to cubicles (hard) or to deep straw bedding (soft). Heifers on hard flooring had higher growth and wear rate of claws and a higher prevalence of sole haemorrhages and dermatitis than heifers on deep straw bedding, who got overgrown claws and more heel horn erosion. Leg lesions were only observed in the cubicle system. After the first housing period the animals claws were trimmed and they were grazed together for 4 months. Thereafter, they were all housed in a cubicle system and any differences between groups regarding any observed traits were no longer seen. Half the animals from each group from the previous heifer housing period were allocated to either concrete slats or rubber slatted flooring in the alleys. After 4 months observation period and at the end of housing season, the most prominent finding was a higher odds for lameness (OR=3,6; P

Published in

Title: Proc. of the 14th ISAH Congress 2009
Publisher: International Society for Animal Hygiene

Conference

14th International Congress of the International Society for Animal Hygiene (ISAH)

SLU Authors

UKÄ Subject classification

Animal and Dairy Science
Veterinary Science

Publication identifier

  • ISBN: 978-80-7399-800-4

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/26114