Digital Dermatitis in Feedlot Cattle: Field Diagnosis and Economic Impact
Date
2020-04-30
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Abstract
Digital dermatitis (DD) has emerged in North American feedlots, although feedlot performance and risk factors are not fully elucidated. Objectives of this thesis were to evaluate two potential risk factors associated with DD: foot and leg conformation and pen condition, as well as identify the economic impact of DD in feedlot cattle. No significant difference was detected between foot and leg conformation in cattle with and without DD. However, pens with “more mud than bedding” increased significantly the odds of cattle with DD (OR=8.55, CI: 4.0-18.4), as well as pens with “excessive mud” (OR=14.1, CI: 5.9-33.8). Also, pens with “more mud than bedding” and “excessive mud” had animals with significantly less ADG (-0.12 and -0.36 kg/d, respectively), compared to animals in dry pen condition. Hence, it is recommended to keep good pen conditions to decrease the odds of cattle developing DD, as it would increase feedlot performance. This can be managed through proper stocking density and strategic bedding, regardless of cattle’s foot and leg conformation. For the economic impact, not all type of cattle with DD were negatively affected, but fall placed steers, winter placed heifers and grass yearlings had a loss between $72 - $98 CAD per animal for the whole feeding period, compared to healthy cattle. Also, cattle with DD gained between 0.11 – 0.17 kg/d less relative to healthy cattle.
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Keywords
feedlot, lameness, cattle, profitability
Citation
Cortés Saavedra, J. A. (2020). Digital Dermatitis in Feedlot Cattle: Field Diagnosis and Economic Impact (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.