On Track - Lameness Guidebook
How best to use this guidebook
If you are inexperienced in treating lame cows.., read guidelines 1 to 8 before treating lame cows.
If you have some experience in treating lame cows, but wish to improve your technical expertise.., read the appropriate guidelines, and include guidelines 2 and 7.
If you are treating a lame cow, and are unable to identify the cause.., read guideline 7.
If you are treating a lame cow, and the case does not respond to treatment.., read guideline 7.
If you are treating a lame cow, and have identified the cause of lameness, but are unsure of the best treatment.., read the appropriate Factsheet.
If you suspect too many cases of lameness are occurring on your farm.., read guideline 7.
If your farm is experiencing an outbreak of lameness.., read "Lameness is a multifactorial problem" and work through "Guidelines 9 to 16" with a veterinarian or animal health consultant. Prioritise the required changes to management, then systematically implement them until the outbreak is controlled.
If you are unsure of what lameness is costing you, or wish to justify additional expenditure on the control of lameness.., read "What does lameness cost a dairy farmer?"
If you do not understand why lameness occurs on your farm, or in an individual animal, read "Lameness is a multifactorial problem" and "Guidelines 9 to 16".
To reduce occupational health and safety risks associated with treating lame cows.., Read Guideline 2.
If you discover blisters between the claws, on the coronet, or on the tongue of any animal at any time, immediately call a veterinary surgeon or government stock inspector. The presence of blisters may indicate Foot and Mouth Disease. Should Foot and Mouth Disease enter Australia, its control and eradication will depend on immediate recognition and reporting!