The effects of dietary biotin supplementation on vertical fissures of the claw wall in beef cattle

A clinical field trial was performed on a herd of Hereford beef cows in cen tral Saskatchewan. The herd had a history of being severely affected with v ertical fissures. The objective of the study was to determine the effects o f supplemental dietary biotin on the prevalence of vertical fissures in bee f cows. In June 1994 and June 1995, 1- and 2-year-old heifers were randomly allocated into 2 treatment groups, each composed of 79 animals. One group received a 10 mg/head/day biotin-supplemented free-choice mineral supplemen t, while the other groups received an identical free-choice mineral without the biotin supplementation. The claws from these animals were evaluated in June 1994, October 1994, June 1995, October 1995, and June 1996 for the pr esence of vertical fissures. Supplemental dietary biotin significantly incr eased serum levels of biotin and significantly increased claw hardness in s upplemented cows. Both groups of heifers started the trial without vertical fissures. After 18 months, 15% of the cows fed supplemental dietary biotin had vertical fissures compared with 33% in the nonsupplemented group. The difference was statistically significant (P = 0.01).