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Digital Dermatitis (Mortallaro) can cost up to €9,800 in a 100-cow herd*. That’s if even only a fifth of your herd is infected, so it could cost you even more. But you can save yourself a lot of money by taking steps to control this infection on your farm.
It’s been a busy week. We’ve been calling to a lot of farms, preparing cows and getting feet in optimum condition for going to grass.
As any trimmer knows, it is never unusual to find some digital dermatitis in any herd. However, over the past few days, we’ve noticed an unusually high level of lesions. Likewise, speaking to some of our professional hoof trimming customers across the country, they have reported similar cases.
What is Digital Dermatitis?
Digital dermatitis is ‘an infectious condition of the foot caused by bacteria’ (NADIS).
In simpler terms, digital dermatitis presents as ulcers or warts. They may also present as strawberry-like lesions just above the heels in cattle. It is highly infectious and can cause extreme pain and discomfort, can limit intake and reduce performance.
What Can You Do To Prevent And Treat Mortellaro?
Dermatitis can often be easily managed by simple good husbandry practices, as follows:
- Hygiene-Keep passageways scraped, collecting yards clean, and cubicles fresh at all times
- Regular footbathing with copper and zinc-based footbaths. We recommend alternating between Intra Hoof-fit bath and Clean & Control
- Parlour spot-spraying. In this case you should identify cows with large lesions, and low pressure spray their feet. Then treat with Repiderma spray in the parlour
- For cows with extreme lesions, you may need to draft, clean and bandage them with Intra Hoof Fit gel. You should do this for 3 days.
- If mortellaro is widespread, the most suitable course of action may be to spray all cattle with spray liquid
The main goal with Digital Dermatitis is to first bring the problem under control. Then manage it effectively through routine practices. Speak to one of our team today for advice on your individual herd on +353 87 090 0360 or info@ekohoofcare.com
*These figures are based on the Dairygold study – details here..
