A higher risk of being lame was found for the presence of claw overgrowth , the first 120 days in milk , larger herd sizes , and increasing parity .
Background Lameness in dairy cows has been an ongoing concern of great relevance to animal welfare and productivity in modern dairy production .
Many studies have examined associations between various factors related to housing , management , and the individual animal and the occurrence of lameness .
The objective of this systematic review was to answer the research question “ what are risk factors associated with lameness in dairy cows that are housed in free stall barns or tie stall facilities ” .
Furthermore , we performed a synthesis of current evidence on certain risk factors by means of a meta- analysis to illustrate the strength of their association with bovine lameness .
Visual locomotion scoring in the first seventy days in milk: impact on pregnancy and survival.
Our hypotheses were that cows classified as lame during the first 70 d in milk have more days from calving to conception and a greater hazard of dying or being culled compared with cows that were not classified as lame . Our objective was to estimate the detrimental effects of lameness on calving-to-conception interval and hazard of dying or being culled in lactating Holstein cows . Data were collected from 5 dairy farms located in upstate New York from November 2004 to June 2006 . The design was a prospect i ve observational cohort study . Cows were assigned a  visual locomotion score ( VLS ) using a 5-point scale : 1 = normal , 2 = presence of a slightly asymmetric gait , 3 = the cow clearly favored 1 or more limbs ( moderately lame ) , 4 = severely lame , to 5 = extremely lame ( nonweight-bearing lame ) . In total 1,799 cows were enrolled . In 2 alternative categorizations , cows were considered lame if at least 1 VLS was > or =3 during the first 70 d in milk , and if at least 1 VLS was > or = 4 for the same period they were considered lame . Lameness ( VLS > or =3 ) was detected at least once in 26.5 , 54.2 , 33.9 , 51.8 , and 39.3 % of all cows in farms 1 to 5 , respectively . The hazard ratio of being detected pregnant was 0.85 for lame cows ( VLS > or =3 ) vs. nonlame cows ; hence , lame cows were at a 15 % lower risk of pregnancy than nonlame cows . When lameness was redefined as VLS > or = 4 , the hazard ratio of been detected pregnant was 0.76 for lame cows vs. cows with VLS < 4 . Lameness increased the hazard ratio of culling/death , 1.45 and 1.74 for VLS > or =3 and VLS > or = 4 , respectively , vs. cows with VLS <3 and VLS < 4 , respectively . In summary , lameness significantly decreased the hazard of pregnancy and increased the hazard of culling/death . The detrimental effects were amplified when considering only severely lame and non-weight-bearing cows
A higher risk of being lame was found for the presence of claw overgrowth , the first 120 days in milk , larger herd sizes , and increasing parity .
Background Lameness in dairy cows has been an ongoing concern of great relevance to animal welfare and productivity in modern dairy production .
Many studies have examined associations between various factors related to housing , management , and the individual animal and the occurrence of lameness .
The objective of this systematic review was to answer the research question “ what are risk factors associated with lameness in dairy cows that are housed in free stall barns or tie stall facilities ” .
Furthermore , we performed a synthesis of current evidence on certain risk factors by means of a meta- analysis to illustrate the strength of their association with bovine lameness .