Search

A survey was made of 37 dairy farms in Wirral, mid-Cheshire, mid-Somerset and Dyfed, Wales, to assess the incidence and prevalence of lameness in the cows between May 1989 and September 1991. The incidence was obtained from records made whenever a cow was examined for lameness or received preventive foot-trimming. The mean annual incidence was 54.6 new cases per 100 cows with a range from 10.7 to 170.1 and the mean values during summer and winter were 22.9 and 31.7, respectively. The prevalence of lameness was measured by regular visits at which locomotion was scored on a scale of 1 to 5, and the prevalence of lameness was calculated for each visit as the proportion of cows with scores of 3 or more. The mean annual prevalence over the whole period was 20.6 per cent with a range from 2.0 to 53.9 per cent for the 37 farms. The mean prevalences during summer and winter were 18.6 and 25.0 per cent, respectively. The prevalence measured at a single visit in midsummer or midwinter was significantly correlated with the mean prevalence over the whole corresponding period and may be useful as an assessment of the extent of lameness in a herd and the efficacy of control measures. There was evidence that training farmers to recognise early cases of lameness and request veterinary treatment resulted in a marked reduction in the duration of cases of lameness.

Information from 37 dairy farms, in four regions of England and Wales provided data on 8991 lesions and the preventive trimming of 4837 cows' feet., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 1996

A survey of cubicles and indoor and outdoor walking surfaces on 37 farms served by four veterinary practices in Somerset, Cheshire, Wirral and west Wales was carried out in 1989 to 1991. A study of the space requirements of Friesian/Holstein cows at pasture showed that they required approximately 240 cm x 120 cm lying space and a further 60 cm lunging space for rising. By these standards, 87 per cent of the cubicles were too short and 50 per cent were too wide or too narrow. Over 1500 observations on cows lying down, rising and standing indicated that only 12 per cent of the cubicles permitted real freedom of movement; 91 per cent of top partition rails were judged to be too low and 70 per cent of bottom rails too low or too high. In addition, the kerb was very high in 76 per cent of the cubicles. As a result, 10 per cent of cows appeared moderately or severely restricted when lying down, 33 per cent when rising and 55 per cent when standing. Over 2000 cubicle beds were also studied; 75 per cent had a concrete base and of those, 63 per cent were judged to have too little bedding and 11 per cent next to none. Higher incidences and prevalences of lameness were associated with limited borrowing space (P

Summary Chicks were fed complete diets containing protein exclusively from soybean meal, either cooked or raw or in combinations, at a total of 20% protein. As little as 5% of raw protein was accompanied by nearly maximal growth retardation due to the tryptic inhibitor in raw soybean meal. The growth inhibition was overcome by adding trypsin to the diet.

SummaryExclusively soybean protein diets, containing varying proportions of raw to cooked soybean meals were fed to young chicks. The growth inhibition associated with raw soybean meal was almost fully developed when one-fourth of the protein of either 20% or 30% protein diets was supplied in the raw form. The results do not fit the concepts of an unavailable essential nutrient or of a toxic component in raw soybean meal. The results are explainable on the basis of an antitrypsin which readily inactivates trypsin but permits the remaining proteolytic system in the digestive tract to function at a lowered degree of efficiency. The further slight inhibition of growth with increased proportions of raw soybean meal is probably an effect of an entirely different nature and may be a manifestation of generally decreased availability of the nutrients in the raw meal.

The well-known improvement in nutritive value of raw soybean protein on heating or methionine supplementation has been reproduced in chick diets containing the soybean antitrypsin, but deficient in lysine, arginine, or isoleucine, by heating to destroy the antitrypsin or by adding the particular amino acid inadequately supplied in the diet. The mechanism of this effect has been shown to be a general one and probably applicable to any indispensable amino acid.

SummaryThe arginine requirement of the chick was estimated in relation to the protein level in the diet, from 15 to 30%. The requirement was found to be approximately 6% of the total protein in the diet, at each level of protein.