Page 13 - ACV Journal DECEMBER 2015

Scientific
“The photo above is my standard roping up technique for back feet
(taught to me by Will Bullock at Tarwin many years ago). Loop above
hock, then to the bar on the opposite side, back under the hock then
up and tie off on the same side as the affected leg. I then stand facing
backwards behind the cows flexed stifle (I hope this makes sense). The
pulley system is great for front feet and if I am working on a front foot
I always restrain the corresponding back leg to ensure the back foot
stays on the ground and not swing forward to give me a belt in the face.
The use of a belly belt also seems to calm most cows.
I’m never afraid to use 20mg of xylazine to relax some cows but I am
always careful to not give sedation to a cow that may have an upper leg
injury due to the meat withhold on the xylazine.
But nothing beats a tipping crush for ease of access and being able
to treat those subclinical lesions on multiple feet. Many lame cows
benefit from having all four feet checked as conditions such as heel
cracks/abscesses, subsolar bruising and thin soles will often have the
contralateral leg affected with the same lesion.
Antibiotics would be used in approximately 15% of my lameness cases
generally being for footrot or for deep seated heel abscesses that are at
risk of developing into a septic arthritis. Usually Penicillin or Ceftiofur for belly-strap (a canvas truck strap with ratchet) to all cows when I intend
footrot, or tetracyclines if concerned about deeper infections.
www.ava.com.au/cattle
I use Bovibond rubber blocks especially for larger framed cows and
bulls, and wooden blocks for smaller cows or when elevation is only
required for 1-2 weeks. I use NSAIDs occasionally (meloxicam or
ketoprofen) but there is very little researched evidence for the benefit
of these drugs for lameness.”
“We see lots of lame cows, and TRY to ensure no vet attends more than
10 lame cows in a day. The method I use to lift the foot is very much
dependent on the facilities at hand, the temperament of the animal, and
the foot I intend to lift. For example, in a wooden race, I always use a
rope, as there is rarely a fixture point high enough for pulleys. If lifting
a front foot in a wooden race, after much fiddling around I can often
oblique the foot out of the side-rails and fix with a second rope, to allow
me to work on the foot from the side of the race. In a nice vet-crush,
I will use pulleys wherever possible for back feet. Once having lifted
the back-foot, I will swing the top section of the split kick-gate closed,
behind the cow and fix her back foot to the bottom rail. ***MAKE SURE
THE KICK GATE IS PROPERLY CLOSED!** Checking this should
be part of your routine every time you shut that gate. If not, you’ll be
financing your dentist’s kids through uni… If in doubt, tie the gate
closed with a rope and secure knot, or abandon the gate altogether
and figure out a SAFE method of completing the task. I always apply a
to lift a front foot (and apply a belly strap to all Jersey’s regardless of
the foot)– and tension this strap until you begin to see the fore fetlocks
ever-so-slightly change angle. This will prevent her from going down,
and 9/10 times will cause her to plant her feet – and prevent you being
kicked in the arm/butt. This brings me to another important safety point.
I’ve heard a few vets say ‘always face towards the back foot so you
can react and move when she tries to kick you’. What a load of crap.
I’ve been kicked a bit, and the most time I ever had was to pull a stupid
face before the point of impact. When bending down anywhere in the
vicinity of a back foot (including when working on a front foot), face your
bum towards the back foot of the cow. A kick in the bum might hurt, but
less so than walking away with a face like a dropped pie (if you’re lucky
enough to walk away)…
If the animal is fractious or questionable, and I’m lifting a forelimb, I will
use a rope rather than a pulley – wrapping pulleys around a fetlock
means a fair bit of time under the cow, passing a single rope under the
axilla allows you to keep your head up, stand back, and tie a sliding
quick-release that can be slipped down and fixed around the fetlock
from a safe distance. The more fractious the animal, the longer the ‘tail’
I leave on my quick-release. I rarely sedate cows for lameness work,
however I am almost exclusively working with calm dairy cattle. If I do
need to sedate, I will sedate with Sedivet (1% Romifidine HCl). The
dose rate ranges from 0.1-0.2mL, IV for good standing sedation. This
is off-label use, and does not have an established WHP, however
the volume is small, and the action + conjugate salt akin to xylazine;
and based on this link, I suppose you could apply a meat WHP of 28
days. Tissue residue work would be great for Romifidine in cattle, as it
does not have the recumbency issues you see with xylazine use. We
use wooden blocks in our practice, applied with methylmethacrylate
(Bovibond hoof glue). The reaction of bovibond is exothermic, so if the
glue is cold, I have found the viscosity gets too high and I break the
sides off the glue chambers when I pump the chaulking gun. On cold
days, I will chuck the glue in the passenger footwell of the car, pump the
car heater up aimed at feet, and wind the window down a touch, and the
glue is toasty for the next call. Alternatively I might warm with a bucket of
warm water, but beware – water is the enemy of Bovibond – if you get
any water near it the glue will not set. As such, after hoof testing a sole
(to ensure I’m not going to block in an abscess), prepping the sole and
The Australian Cattle Veterinarian | volume 77 | December 2015 13