Guidelines on the Disease during the Conversion Period

• On converting farms where lameness in cattle is a problem, effective changes to housing and management must be made to address the problem.
• It is important that the lameness situation on the farm is assessed at the start of the conversion period, as changes to housing may require a major investment on the farmers' part. Whay and Maine (1999) suggest that a combination of lameness incidence and prevalence data can provide a broad base of information which can form the cornerstone of any prevention programme.
• Therefore a lameness recording system should be initiated at the beginning of the conversion period. Lameness records should include the following information:

• cow number
• date
• affected limb
• lesion/disease type
• treatments
• outcome of the treatment

These records should be inspected and analysed, with the assistance of a veterinarian, every six months throughout the conversion period, in order to establish a true picture of the lameness situation on the farm.

 

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