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30 THE RURAL VOICE
confined in tie -stalls.
When a cow's feet are sore on new
concrete, a zinc supplement in feed
will harden them up. Portena noted it
took several months for feet to harden
and for the cement to wear or smooth
off.
Portena didn't find the foot bath
helpful since infected animals
walking through a medicated trough
might lead to others being infected.
Instead they washed the cow's sore
feet and then used a sprayer filled
with medicated water and found it
worked better for them.
Sand, considered the best bedding
and easiest on a cow's hocks entails
more work such as scraping into
troughs. Sand isn't suitable for slatted
floors as it gets into equipment and
will eventually ruin the pumps. Rick
Portena uses rubber -filled mattresses
and wood shavings for his bedding.
Concern about feet is a problem
Rick shares with many dairy farmers.
Prevention means
checking on your farm
practices
Lameness could be caused by hoof
overgrowth or poor trimming. Vets
studying feet disorders suggest that
cows with straight hocks when seen
from behind would be most desirable
and those cows with crooked hocks
would possibly be considered culls.
Research indicates foot angle, heel
depth and length of toe have a
bearing on how long a cow can
produce.
An experienced vet since 1981,
John Hunt says 75 per cent or more
of his practice deals with cattle. He
pointed out that right now, we are
seeing communicable diseases in
herds we never heard about five years
ago.
Hunt makes about 200 calls a
month, half the calls he made ten
years ago. He spends more time
discussing early detection, how not to
spread diseases through the herd, and
he provides newsletters for his
clients. A city boy who always had a
love for cattle, Hunt mentioned he
switched roles with his medical
doctor father who grew up in the
country.
Having a vet like Hunt and his
partner Terry Johnston do herd health