EPIDEMIOLOGY OF LAMENESS IN DAIRY-CATTLE - THE INFLUENCE OF CUBICLES AND INDOOR AND OUTDOOR WALKING SURFACES

A survey of cubicles and indoor and outdoor walking surfaces on 37 far ms served by four veterinary practices in Somerset, Cheshire, Wirral a nd west Wales was carried out in 1989 to 1991. A study of the space re quirements of Friesian/Holstein cows at pasture showed that they requi red approximately 240 cm x 120 cm lying space and a further 60 cm lung ing space for rising, By these standards, 87 per cent of the cubicles were too short and 50 per cent were too wide or too narrow, Over 1500 observations on cows lying down, rising and standing indicated that on ly 12 per cent of the cubicles permitted real freedom of movement; 91 per cent of top partition rails were judged to be too low and 70 per c ent of bottom rails too low or too high, In addition, the kerb was ver y high in 76 per cent of the cubicles, As a result, 10 per cent of cow s appeared moderately or severely restricted when lying down, 33 per c ent when rising and 55 per cent when standing. Over 2000 cubicle beds were also studied; 75 per cent had a concrete base and of those, 63 pe r cent were judged to have too little bedding and 11 per cent next to none, Higher incidences and prevalences of lameness were associated wi th limited borrowing space (P<0.01) low bottom rails (P<0.05), high ke rbs (P<0.05) and inadequate bedding (P<0.01). Of 3190 walking surfaces , only 25 per cent were classified as satisfactory in the first winter and 34 per cent in the second. In general, surfaces in silage bays we re too rough and those in other sites were too smooth, The farms with the smoothest indoor walking surfaces had a significantly higher incid ence of lameness (P<0.01). Of 3335 outdoor walking surfaces only 25 pe r cent were classified as satisfactory, and 70 per cent were too rough , The incidence of lameness was not significantly related to these fin dings.