I  confess a vested  interest being a hoof  trimmer  in the south west {07545079595} but there is so much time and money spent on treating with blocks and bandages , that would be better spent on trimming . I feel all dairy cow should have all four feet trimmed once a year drying off being an obvious  time ,with a second check with both back feet trimmed at 120 days  post calving. Where this will not fit with your system  trim the whole dairy herd every 10 months .Its to late when a cow is showing signs of lameness,you rarely pick up a hoof  not in need of a trim . Even heifers  benefit at the end of the first lactation from a trim . When you can get all four feet trimmed for £7.50  the  two  back  feet  for  £5.50  you don't  have to save many cows ! Let alone increased productivity from being more mobile , what do you think am I becoming obsessed  how often should you trim ?

Don't worry about it,  I feel the very same about music, oh and cars.

I bet Hollywood will be on the phone very soon. Coming soon to a cinema near you "Confessions of a hoof-trimmer" starring.........

 As a farmer, I am sceptical of foot trimmers who charge by the foot, as this gives them an incentive to trim regardless of need.  So we do our own feet here having been trained by our vet.

Admittedly we have British Friesian cows, who are regarded as generally better on their feet, but very few actually need routine trimming, a check maybe and all cows are done at 200 days in milk with very few actually needing much trimming at all.  We get very little lameness and I put this down to the infrastructure and the way the cows are managed on a low input system.  Feed is pushed up regularly to ensure that cows can reach it without straining which reduces intakes and puts pressure on front feet.  The feed passage is also raised 6 inches and the parlour exit is large to eliminate sharp turns.

We have had 1 lame cow in the last 2 months - she had an infection in the white line on a back foot, but I wouldn't say routine trimming would eliminate all lameness.  Can't remember the last cow that was sent as a casualty for lameness.

are you talking about brazilians? are you on the right site?

Bad feet are hereditary IMHO. Cull problem cows and don't keep their daughters as replacements. Problem solved........eventually.

welshnwilling:

Bad feet are hereditary

 

I'd totally agree foot shape and problems come from the cow before

 I agree with what has been said bad feet are hereditary ,but also housing ,feeding ,cow tracks and management play a big part and can affect cows with hereditary good feet . If  every cow who had bad feet could be stopped from breeding there wouldn't be many heifer's in two year's time . It's time to stop pretending bad cows have bad feet and accept that some dairy systems increase horn growth ,some systems make hooves  pron to damage .My point is if you are a herd with foot problems then find a trimmer you can trust work out a formula of payment that you are comfortable with and get on top of it don't waste money by doing to little to late .By the way I don't know how they trim in Brazil I've never been .

cowsfoot:

 I agree with what has been said bad feet are hereditary

My uncle once told me to take a good look at my girlfriends mothers feet, he then went on to say that if I fancied her mum then I should marry the girlfriend as that was what I'd be sleeping with in 20 yrs time.

I totally agree with what you've said cow's foot as i came into a problem herd 2 1/2 years ago and have just spent time trimming myself and having routine monthly visit's from a foot trimmer,we are autumn calvig so last summer i trimmed the whole herd at drying of and have just started to do the earliest calved again and its paying off,i also am a big fan fan of formalin footbathing and my cow's go through a 8% bath 5 times a week.The footrimmer told me on my last visit that the feet have never looked so good so it has definetly paid of.

I,m after a bit of advice cowsfoot! I looked at a bull that was perfect in every way apart from his inside front toes were a little long. He was 18 months old and had been kept on loose housing with no concrete and by size of him probably high concentrate ration. Would you say feet could be trimmed into shape and that will solve it or that he is not walking quite right?

welshnwilling:

to take a good look at my girlfriends mothers feet

 

It wouldn't be the feet that I would take a good look at but then each to their own!!

 It seems to to be the off spin of pushing bulls so much  so young that the hooves suffer , its a shame when you do a herd of sucklers with good healthy feet to find the bull has the feet of a dairy cow .Having said that if you get them put back in shape checked 6 months later I would not let a bit of extra growth  put me off a good bull .More people than you think have bulls trimmed before offering them for sale . But it has to pay to check a bulls feet every year they are so heavy coming down on there front feet why run the risk that the white line is separating or something  else is brewing , level  his feet up and put them in the best shape to work on has to be the answer . Hope this helps .

Have you much experience of sand cracks running right up to the hairline.  My cows get a lot of these which we open up with knives and grinder to relieve pressure.  generally it's the front feet that cause most problems.  Once dug out and cleaned up they don't give much bother but look bad.

Any way of preventing these other than moving farm??

dougalhtid:

I,m after a bit of advice cowsfoot! I looked at a bull that was perfect in every way apart from his inside front toes were a little long. He was 18 months old and had been kept on loose housing with no concrete and by size of him probably high concentrate ration. Would you say feet could be trimmed into shape and that will solve it or that he is not walking quite right?

 

Can you see his mother, if she has bad feet I would walk away, if she has good feet the bull has probably pushed too hard at a young age, trim the feet up to get them in good condition, but don't keep him for too many years.

Thank you. Really helpful

 Sand cracks are interesting you see them more in beef cow than dairy , mostly front feet and some herds seem to be prone while some never see any .My questions would be do you see them in the same age cows are your cow prone to carrying extra weight more than 50% of a cows weight is on her front feet.It sounds like you doing  the right thinks ,get rid of  the pressure and any rubbish make sure there's no pinching  on the hair line. I thing it pay to block if she's been lame on it because sometimes there is movement you can't see , the block gives it time to firm up .

Thanks. My cows are all beef bred and would be heavy though it isn't always or even usually the heaviest that get cracks.  Haven't tried blocks on ones with cracked feet.  Do you think cracks ever heal over if left alone and a shoe fitted to good side?  Quite often both claws are affected.  Are there any products worth filling into cracks when opened up?

FD6465, Sound advice that applies to all livestock I think  -. I wonder if w'n'w's wife checked out his mother's feet?  It is a long time since I needed to buy a bull, but was slightly undecided between two, at pasture, in the same herd. The mother of one of them decided it for me. I have bought quite a few rams in my time though, and my wife used to work one pen in front of me, purely checking their feet. Anything not up to scratch was simply not considered.