Treating Laminitis In Dairy Cows

Nsaid non steroidal anti inflammatory drug injectable ketoprofen 2 to 4 mg kg im iv.

Treating laminitis in dairy cows.

Treatment for subclinical laminitis is impractical because diagnosis in an individual animal is not possible at the time of the causative insult s. Laminitis has been described in many species but is most common in equine and bovine. Proper foot trimming is essential to prevent and manage claw problems. The greeks aristotle associated equine laminitis with indigestion.

Though there is no effective treatment for laminitis edwards says consistent bunk management and using adequate step up rations can help prevent it. Laminitic lesions of the claw are not always a result of poor feeding practices. The functional approach to claw trimming allows for correction of claw problems. Rations that lead to acidosis are followed by laminitis but this is difficult to manage when the largest percentage of diets for dairy cattle contain carbohydrates.

Injectable diphenhydramine 0 5 to 1 0 mg kg iv im. Correct grain overload keeping the animal moving and the claws cool. Controlling subclinical laminitis see laminitis in cattle in a high production intensively managed dairy herd requires a systematic epidemiologic study. To feed carbohydrates correctly fiber levels must be measured using neutral detergent fiber ndf and acid detergent fiber adf values.

The greek name of the disease kritiasis relates to overfeeding of barley. The first priority he says is to determine of the animal is down but alert or moribund. Antihistamines may be useful e g.