Treating Laminitis In Dairy Cows

The greek name of the disease kritiasis relates to overfeeding of barley.

Treating laminitis in dairy cows.

Controlling subclinical laminitis see laminitis in cattle in a high production intensively managed dairy herd requires a systematic epidemiologic study. Laminitis has been described in many species but is most common in equine and bovine. The greeks aristotle associated equine laminitis with indigestion. Rations that lead to acidosis are followed by laminitis but this is difficult to manage when the largest percentage of diets for dairy cattle contain carbohydrates.

Injectable diphenhydramine 0 5 to 1 0 mg kg iv im. Edwards also spoke about downed cattle. Treatment for subclinical laminitis is impractical because diagnosis in an individual animal is not possible at the time of the causative insult s. Although bovine laminitis is most common in dairy cows it has been reported in all ages and sexes.

Laminitic lesions of the claw are not always a result of poor feeding practices. Proper foot trimming is essential to prevent and manage claw problems. Lameness in dairy cows may be due to infectious diseases or disruptions of normal claw growth. To feed carbohydrates correctly fiber levels must be measured using neutral detergent fiber ndf and acid detergent fiber adf values.

Nsaid non steroidal anti inflammatory drug injectable ketoprofen 2 to 4 mg kg im iv. The functional approach to claw trimming allows for correction of claw problems. The first priority he says is to determine of the animal is down but alert or moribund.