Prevalence of lameness among dairy cattle in Wisconsin as a function of housing type and stall surface

Abstract

Objective—To determine the prevalence of lameness as a function of season (summer vs winter), housing type (free stalls vs tie stalls), and stall surface (sand vs any other surface) among lactating dairy cows in Wisconsin. Design—Epidemiologic survey. Animals—3,621 lactating dairy cows in 30 herds. Procedure—Herds were visited once during the summer and once during the winter, and a locomotion score ranging from 1 (no gait abnormality) to 4 (severe lameness) was assigned to all lactating cows. Cows with a score of 3 or 4 were considered to be clinically lame. Results—Mean ± SD herd lameness prevalence was 21.1 ± 10.5% during the summer and 23.9 ± 10.7% during the winter; these values were significantly different. During the winter, mean prevalence of lameness in free-stall herds with non-sand stall surfaces (33.7%) was significantly higher than prevalences in free-stall herds with sand stall surfaces (21.2%), tiestall herds with non-sand stall surfaces (21.7%), and tie-stall herds with sand stall surfaces (12.1%). Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results suggest that the prevalence of lameness among dairy cattle in Wisconsin is higher than previously thought and that lameness prevalence is associated with season, housing type, and stall surface. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2003;223:1324–1328)