Digital Dermatitis in First Lactation Cows at Auctions - A Prevalence Study

The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of digital dermatitis (= DD) in first lactation cows (FLCs) presented as breeding cattle at the monthly auction in one auction centre in Austria over a period of 10 months.
The FLCs to be examined were selected randomly for each auction from the monthly auction catalogue. Based on these data, for each auction a minimum of 25% of FLCs were selected, with an average of 36% of all FLCs of all 10 auctions. After obtaining owner’s consent, the hindclaws of the cows were examined in a walk-in crush. Localisation, diameter in cm and type (M1 – M4) of DD lesions were evaluated.
From a total of 1110 FLCs registered for the 10 auctions on the catalogues, 399 were chosen for examination, and of these 199 FLCs could be examined. In 63 cows from the random sample the owners did not consent to the examination. A total of 24 FLCs were found to have DD lesions on one or both hindlimbs. The size of lesions ranged from 0.5 to 3 cm in diameter. The prevalence of DD determined at 10 auction dates was 12.06%.
The results of this study show that about 12% of FLCs presented as breeding cattle at auction were affected ...