The connection between lameness and nutrition

Stockfarm asked Jackie Tucker, a ruminant specialist at Chemunique, a company that focuses on the improvement of animal production, about the effect of nutrition on lameness in cattle. Her first comment was that it is a very complex problem. There is no single cause and most certainly also no quick solution. Management, the environment and nutrition are some of the factors that play a role in the prevalence of this condition. “Lameness is divided into two groups, namely bacterial/contagious lameness and mechanical lameness. Bacterial lameness is linked to hygiene and biosecurity, while mechanical lameness can be attributed to environmental conditions such as the surface the animals walk on, the design of the milking parlour, heat and nutrition.