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Christine Brenninkmeyer presents Oral paper 20
In session 4: Assessing health status of groups of animals in relation to welfare
Friday, 12 September 2008 from 9h45-10h00 in the Aula chaired by Jeffrey Rushen
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Oral paper 20
RISK FACTORS FOR HOCK LESIONS IN CUBICLE HOUSED DAIRY
COWS IN GERMANY AND AUSTRIA
C. Brenninkmeyer 1 , S. Dippel 2 , J. Brinkmann³, S. March³, C. Winckler 2 , U. Knierim 1
1 Department of Farm Animal Behaviour and Husbandry, University of Kassel,Witzenhausen, Germany
2 Division of Livestock Sciences, Department of Sustainable Agricultural Systems, University of Natural
Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
³ : Research Centre for Animal Production, Georg-August-University of Goettingen, Vechta, Germany
High prevalences of hock lesions are common in dairy herds. They may be painful, reflect
restrictions in the cows lying comfort and furthermore impair welfare by increased disease risks.
We examined various potential risk factors for hock lesions, plus 5 possible interactions, using an
epidemiological approach.. Factors included fourteen cubicle characteristics, duration of lying down
movements, and eight management aspects. 105 cubicle farms with Holstein or Simmental cows
(herd size: 28 to 156 cows) were visited once during winter as part of the Welfare Quality® project.
Housing details were measured or scored directly, management information gathered in an
interview, and 3691 cows examined. Analysis consisted of three steps: bifactorial regression,
regression trees and multiple linear regression.
Average prevalence of hock lesions (scabs, wounds, swellings at tarsus or tuber calcis) was
50%±33, ranging from 0 to 100%. In the final linear regression model, the presence of a curb was
the most influential factor. It accounted for a prevalence reduction of 21% (p=0.0005), probably due
to keeping a minimum amount of litter in the cubicle. Additionally, there were fewer hock lesions
in cubicles with deep bedding ( 19%, p=0.0012) compared to those with raised cubicle base. Further
significant factors were: softness of lying surface (-17% for soft versus hard, p=0.0012), lying area
length (+20 cm relating to -6%, p=0.05), and clear height under cubicle partitions (+10 cm relating
to –4%, p=0.0433).
Thus, cubicle design had a strong effect on hock lesion prevalences. In order to reduce the high
prevalences found, cubicle beds should be soft and contain sufficient bedding material. Longer
cubicles and sufficient free space underneath partitions are also beneficial, though unwanted effects
of increased soiling or risk of cows getting stuck underneath cubicle partitions need to be addressed.
Contact information: Christine Brenninkmeyer or email brenninkmeyer@wiz.uni-kassel.de
Complete address: Department of Farm Animal Behaviour and Husbandry, University of Kassel,
Nordbahnhofstraße 1a, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany
Species: Dairy cattle