AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Sarah Erickson from Feedlot Health Management Services Inc., by Telus Agriculture, in Alberta, Canada. Sarah is currently enrolled in the Master of Science in large animal clinical sciences at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, and hopes to obtain her veterinary degree after completion of her masters. 

Lameness is a significant issue in feedlot cattle accounting for approximately 30% of all treatments in feedlot cattle, second only to bovine respiratory disease, and affecting over 3% of Western Canadian feedlot cattle. Cattle affected by lameness weigh close to 50 lbs less than healthy pen mates, but the economic impact is also influenced by treatment costs, labor, mortality and salvage slaughter. We discuss the most common conditions causing lameness in feedlot cattle which include toe tip necrosis, foot rot, arthritis, laminitis and digital dermatitis. There are unique challenges in managing these disease in feedlot versus dairy cattle due to the differences in husbandry between the two industries, but in both circumstances, lameness in cattle impact health, production and welfare. Erickson reviews a recent study performed on over 1.7 million head of Western Canadian evaluating the epidemiology of digital dermatitis, foot rot and toe tip necrosis. She discusses the risk factors for each disease such as sourcing, age, sex, feedlot size and days on feed. Veterinarians can play an integral role in assisting feedlots with development of protocols for diagnosis and treatment of lameness conditions, reviewing pain management and euthanasia protocols for affect cattle, development of prevention programs, and evaluation of the incidence in client yards to improve prevention and treatment programs.

 If you are interested in lameness and want to volunteer, a great place to start is the AABP lameness committee which can be found on this page. AABP committee resource files can be found at this link. 

 Relevant publications:

Diagnosis and therapy of feedlot lameness
Michael D. Apley
Proceedings of the 2020 AABP Recent Graduate Conference
https://doi.org/10.21423/aabppro20207968

Incidence of lameness and association of cause and severity of lameness on the outcome for cattle on six commercial beef feedlots
Shane P. Terrell, Christopher D. Reinhardt, Connie K. Larson, Christopher I. Vahl, and Daniel U. Thomson
JAVMA, Vol. 250, No. 4.
https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.250.4.437

Perception of lameness management, education, and effects on animal welfare of feedlot cattle by consulting nutritionists, veterinarians, and feedlot managers
S.P. Terrell, D.U. Thompson, C.D. Reinhardt, M. D. Apley, C.K. Larson, K.R. Stackhouse-Lawson
The Bovine Practitioner, Vol. 48, No. 1.
https://doi.org/10.21423/bovine-vol48no1p53-60