Cow feet trimming by qualified foot trimmers combined with mobility scoring of dairy cows keeps your cattle mobile, healthy and productive. Helping cattle farmers across Somerset, east Devon and west Dorset with Evolution Farm Vets's Mix & Match Foot Trimming service.
Evolution Farm Vets Mix & Match Foot Trimming offers a complete service to help prevent lameness occurring, from mobility scoring to preventative foot trimming, through to on-farm reviews of cattle lameness risks. With Farm Assurance Schemes and milk buyers focussing progressively more on lameness control in dairy cows, our Mix & Match Foot Trimming service combines Vet Techs with professional cattle foot trimmers to provide cost-effective preventative trimming and cow lameness reduction. Mobility scoring combined with dairy cow foot trimming is a practical solution to a very persistent cattle problem. We provide a preventative foot trimming service so that over time we would rarely need to do corrective trimming on your cows.
Effects of lameness on dairy cows:
- Reduced fertility by more than 25% due to lameness
- Average milk yield loss is quoted at 180L
- Lifelong bone changes caused by foot ulcers in heifers increase the likelihood of lameness in that cow again…foot trimming to prevent these ulcers is a double win
How much are you losing through NOT mobility scoring and routinely trimming?
Our experience shows that a case of lameness costs around £178. Using an average incidence of 55 cases per 100 cows per year (which is equivalent to 25% prevalence with a case duration of 4-5 months) means lameness costs an average dairy farmer about £10,000 per 100 cows per year.
Why focus on mobility scoring and routine trimming of cows’ feet:
Research shows that cattle farmers see lameness control as one of the most costly issues amongst their cows and regard it as one of the three biggest costs faced by every cattle farmer (along with fertility and mastitis). Regular mobility scoring of cows on-farm is the first step to reducing lameness levels amongst your cows, especially as higher yielding dairy cows have an increased risk of lameness.
Common cow lameness issues identified through mobility scoring:
Cattle lameness includes digital dermatitis, foul-in-the-foot (and super foul), hock damage, laminitis, white line disease, slurry heel and sole ulcers.
How our Mix & Match Foot Trimming service helps your cattle herd:
- Combined Vet, Foot Trimmer and Vet Tech approach to trimming helps keep your cows mobile, healthy and productive
- On-farm cow mobility scoring by our own RoMS registered, vet-supported Vet Techs to catch lameness early, including reports and actions to ensure your cows’ feet get the trimming they need
- What are the benefits of mobility scoring?
- Mobility scoring ensures every cow’s feet are assessed for early signs of mobility issues. Regular mobility scoring followed by foot trimming the right cow’s feet at the right time (within 48 hours of your mobility scoring results) helps ensure less severe lesions.
- Mobility scoring is important in ensuring reduced lameness in cattle, as cows can be picked out for foot trimming earlier and are more likely to recover more quickly, reducing the cost to you
- Mobility scoring data can be combined with observations made by foot trimmers whilst trimming feet to help identify the leading causes of lameness in your cattle, so changes can be made to reduce overall levels, resulting in reducing the number of trims required. Mobility scoring results can then be used to monitor reductions in lameness levels.
- What are the benefits of mobility scoring?
- Our Mix & Match Foot Trimming service is hassle-free: we bring with us our own welfare-friendly, stand-up trimming cattle crush and all the foot-trimming tools we need
- Routine foot trimming ensures early-stage lesions are noticed early
- Professional foot trimming: our fully licensed, independent, full-time trimmers undergo National Association of Cattle Foot Trimmers (NACFT) foot trimming training as well as working towards or affiliated with the CHCSB RAU Level 4 in Bovine Lameness and Professional Cattle Foot Trimming, meaning their cattle foot trimming skills are regularly checked
To see membership criteria Click Here
To check a membership Click Here - Vet-led cattle mobility data analysis prior to trimming feet; you get a ‘feet to trim’ cow pick list for your trimmer to use
- Foot trimming of ‘early lameness’ cows identified through mobility scoring to drive down herd lameness
- Using an experienced foot trimmer helps ensure any trimming done improves cow mobility. Trimming cows’ feet at the right time by a qualified foot trimmer can also help prevent lameness. However, if done incorrectly, then trimming is superfluous.
Prevention is better than cure; combining mobility scoring, foot trimmers and foot trimming can help you.
If you would like to try Evolution Farm Vets Mix & Match Foot Trimming service on your cows’ feet and reduce the lameness costs on your farm, or you’d simply like to talk to one of our mobility scoring Vet Techs or cattle foot trimmers about how mobility scoring and/or trimming could help your cows, just give us a call on 01278734828
Helping cattle farmers across Somerset, east Devon and west Dorset with Evolution Farm Vets’ Mix & Match Foot Trimming service