Ceva Launches New Support for Management of Cattle Lameness

Ceva Animal Health, manufacturer of Ketofen®, has launched an innovative range of support tools to promote best practice in the management of cattle lameness.

Designed around the ‘Fab Five’ Foot Treatment Team consisting of farmers, vets, foot trimmers, mobility scorers and nutritional consultants, the new support pack includes a step-by-step guide and a series of four lameness management training videos to advise on the planning and implementation of an effective herd mobility improvement programme.

The unique step-by-step guide delivers easy to follow guidelines for farmers wishing to make an improvement in herd mobility. It highlights the importance of implementing a robust and ongoing treatment plan to improve cow comfort and reduce lameness in the short-term, which will lead to increased production and herd welfare in the longer-term. The steps feature advice on reviewing a whole herd by an independent RoMS (Register of Mobility Scorers) accredited mobility scorer, seeking veterinary advice or contacting a mobility mentor (someone who has been trained to deliver the ADHB Healthy Feet Programme) if lesions are identified, treating within 48 hours of identification with a combination of trim, block, topical antimicrobial spray and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID), as appropriate, and the importance of ongoing treatment, prevention and monitoring every fortnight. The guide also includes tips for the successful use of NSAIDs, which include the importance of using a NSAID with a zero milk withhold.

The lameness management videos are produced in collaboration with James Wilson BSc (Hons) PhD, a foot health consultant from Herd Health Consultancy and feature contributions from Alex Burrows, professional foot trimmer and Chair of the National Association of Cattle Foot Trimmers (NACFT), Dave Bacon, a dairy farmer from Gleadthorpe Farm in Nottinghamshire, Shannon Trinder, assistant herdsperson at Gleadthorpe Farm and Harry Walby BVetMed MRCVS, veterinary surgeon and ruminant technical advisor at Ceva Animal Health. They cover the benefits of regular mobility scoring, prioritising mobility and lameness prevention in heifers and maintaining lameness management success with practical and effective lameness treatment and prevention programmes.

Harry Walby, ruminant veterinary advisor at Ceva Animal Health, manufacturer of Ketofen, comments: “Our new cattle lameness step-by-step guide and lameness management training videos provide invaluable advice to promote best practice and the planning and implementation of an effective and easy to follow herd mobility improvement programme which will help increase production and herd welfare.

To download a copy of the step-by-step guide go to www.wavegoodbyetopain.co.uk/pdf/step-by-step-guide.pdf and to view the lameness management training videos visit www.wavegoodbyetopain.co.uk/training-videos.html. For further information on cattle lameness visit www.wavegoodbyetopain.co.uk.