Sole ulcers?

jerseycowsman

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
cornwall
Am I right in thinking sole ulcers are caused by injury to the foot? DD and foul are infectious and white line is grit.
As most of you are aware we have recently moved and the winter accommodation is far superior to what we used to have, cubicles with mattresses and slats that are mostly covered with rubber and lots of indoor space. We also have 100 old sand cubicles in another shed on normal concrete that are scraped once a day by a tractor.
Sole ulcers were a rarity at the old farm. This winter and spring we’ve had about 20! I’ve got through a box of blocks (the last box had lasted about 6 years!) some of them are taking forever to get over it too.
Any comments, questions or observations please? TIA
 
Location
Cheshire
New concrete can cause excessive growth in the outer rear claw, in the long run the added pressure of the over growth can cause bruising then ulcers. Timely trimming can help reduce the incidence from this cause.

We put some new concrete down and it feels like there’s more overgrowth because of it. We don’t seem to have more ulcers but I’m always on the look out for overgrowth.
 
Am I right in thinking sole ulcers are caused by injury to the foot? DD and foul are infectious and white line is grit.
As most of you are aware we have recently moved and the winter accommodation is far superior to what we used to have, cubicles with mattresses and slats that are mostly covered with rubber and lots of indoor space. We also have 100 old sand cubicles in another shed on normal concrete that are scraped once a day by a tractor.
Sole ulcers were a rarity at the old farm. This winter and spring we’ve had about 20! I’ve got through a box of blocks (the last box had lasted about 6 years!) some of them are taking forever to get over it too.
Any comments, questions or observations please? TIA
Where there is rubber there won’t be normal wear on feet.
I would suggest you need to be doing more preventative trimming if you think there is excess growth. I think @Will Blackburn is spot on.
 

Sandpit Farm

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Derbyshire
Maybe schedule a trim a dry off for everything and then a check at 80-100 days. I know they aren't going to be super high yielding but just a quick model out will reduce the pressure under the pedal bone.

Also, the new research suggests taking a much wider and deeper model on the outer claw (on back feet).

Are you mobility scoring? maybe you could split the 1s off earlier and get them modelled out and rebalanced. If you go over a certain number you could maybe prioritise a paddock closer to home. Whenever we saw flareups of ulcers it would often be because we had been busy and not noticed the bruised ones early enough. If you have shed loads, you could even split into two groups and put the lame cows closer to home.

Also, how long are they on their feet on hardstanding? i.e. are milking times an issue. It is really difficult with tracks and grazing but if grouping helps, it is worth doing. Also, I have seen astroturf used really well on some tracks (just do not but it in areas that sit wet or areas that are on ANY type of slope (you often get polar opposite views on the stuff).

Oh and white lines are not 'grit'. It is an issue with twisting and can be nutrition related. If you are getting lots of these, I would be looking more at surfaces, tight turns and bullying. I would also want to look at when I start seeing the issues. If it is first 60 days after calving, it could be transition related. Once you start trimming wall out (which you sometimes need to do), you lose the structure of the hoof so white line issues need investigating if cases rise.
 

Dead Rabbits

Member
Location
'Merica
It’s definitely bruising that causes them. I typically get any ulcers appearing after the hot summer months when cows will be standing a lot due to heat.

I have a certain jersey cow line that is very prone to developing sole ulcers. I can visually pick them out of the herd as they all look similar. So there is apparently a genetic component as well.
 

DaveGrohl

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Cumbria
Once you understand what causes sole ulcers to develop you quickly realise they’re not insurmountable.

You have 2 hard pedal bones and 2 hardish soles on each foot. In between those you’ve got the soft corium tissue. When one side (almost always outside claw with back feet) gets too much growth, ie the sole gets considerably thicker than the other, then the soft corium gets pinched in between, leading to bruising and then on to a sole ulcer. Try gluing a thin piece of wood into your slipper positioning it to one side. Guess which side hurts. That’s basically what’s happening. That’s why regular trimming by a person who understands this is important.

I’ve been out of cows for a few years now but I never touched the inside cleat until I’d got the outside cleat trimmed to an ideal state. Only then would I take anything off the inside cleat. Some cows don’t have much inside cleat to start with so if you fly in and take too much off you’re fekked. Twice a year trim was our minimum routine. I can’t pass opinion on why you’ve now had a flare up but others’ comments seem to make sense re wear rates etc. Outside cleats grow faster but also should wear faster.
 

jerseycowsman

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
cornwall
Maybe it’s because our cows are not self trimming so much now as they only have to walk 600 metres to furthest fields on the new farm versus 1800 metres in the old farm?
Also, I’ve noticed them catching their toes or hhe outside of the hoof in slats (smaller jersey feet get in the flats more), could that be anything?
 
Maybe it’s because our cows are not self trimming so much now as they only have to walk 600 metres to furthest fields on the new farm versus 1800 metres in the old farm?
Also, I’ve noticed them catching their toes or hhe outside of the hoof in slats (smaller jersey feet get in the flats more), could that be anything?
Wouldn’t trauma more likely cause white line issues ?
 

Whitewalker

Member
Once you understand what causes sole ulcers to develop you quickly realise they’re not insurmountable.

You have 2 hard pedal bones and 2 hardish soles on each foot. In between those you’ve got the soft corium tissue. When one side (almost always outside claw with back feet) gets too much growth, ie the sole gets considerably thicker than the other, then the soft corium gets pinched in between, leading to bruising and then on to a sole ulcer. Try gluing a thin piece of wood into your slipper positioning it to one side. Guess which side hurts. That’s basically what’s happening. That’s why regular trimming by a person who understands this is important.

I’ve been out of cows for a few years now but I never touched the inside cleat until I’d got the outside cleat trimmed to an ideal state. Only then would I take anything off the inside cleat. Some cows don’t have much inside cleat to start with so if you fly in and take too much off you’re fekked. Twice a year trim was our minimum routine. I can’t pass opinion on why you’ve now had a flare up but others’ comments seem to make sense re wear rates etc. Outside cleats grow faster but also should wear faster.
Quick level up works wonders , dry off and pre service normally here
 
I plan on getting a trimmer in at dry off this time, seem to have lots of growth, is there any right or wrong way? When they are still milking or a week after dry? I'm sure I remember seeing someone here saying not to trim on the same day as dry off?
 

DaveGrohl

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Cumbria
I plan on getting a trimmer in at dry off this time, seem to have lots of growth, is there any right or wrong way? When they are still milking or a week after dry? I'm sure I remember seeing someone here saying not to trim on the same day as dry off?
Prob someone who just likes dishing out advice. We always trimmed feet as we dried cows off, within an hour or two then put them in the dry shed. Never had any issues.
 

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