Toe Abscesses Need More Attention

By: Alan Newport

Lameness probably continues to be an under-treated ailment in cattle.

When Shane Terrell, DVM began researching lameness for a Ph.D. project, he was hoping to establish some data and maybe some protocols to improve timing and diagnoses of lameness problems.

Historically, feeders tend to pull lame cattle only when they fall behind the rest of the pen, says Terrell. The problem with that methodology is that when you wait so long, those primary injuries become secondary injuries, such as septic joints.

Terrell who is a veterinarian and staff member of Production Animal Consultation at Gothenburg, Neb., believes some progress has been made. His initial research was partially funded by Zinpro, which now offers lameness training online and a nifty decision tree previously covered in BEEF Vet. In practice, Terrell has continued his research and has worked with clients to improve early detection and treatment of lameness, which he says is paying dividends.

He believes there is quite a bit of room for improvement across the industry.

Although lameness falls significantly behind respiratory disease and digestive upset as a cause of morbidity and mortality, it is the third cause of health issues in feedlots. It has a cost of $7.26 per head per year across all fed cattle when accounting costs from realizers (crippled discounted cattle) and mortality are included. His research projects have shown mortality from sole and toe abscesses are at two to four incidences per 10,000 head in feedlots. Among those pulled, mortality runs 2% to 6%.

In the slow-to-pull and slow-to-treat model of handling lameness, toe and sole abscesses aren’t often differentiated from leg injuries because of similarity of pain reaction. The misdiagnosis of abscesses as stifle problems, in fact, continues to be a problem, Terrell says. To a degree, the same things could be said of a lack of differentiation between hairy heel wart (digital dermatitis) and foot rot.

Terrell says the overall incidence of lameness probably is fairly constant, but as feedlot cowboys receive training the number of pulls tends to increase. Among his clients, at least, more abscesses are being diagnosed, but that may be from better early detection.

Abscesses have four contributing factors, Terrell says.

1. Rough or improper processing surfaces

2. Poor handling

3. Dehydration

4. Length of haul

Some concrete surfaces create what Terrell calls a “slipand-catch” circumstance, wherein cattle hooves slip on a smooth surface and then catch on a bump. This is common where concrete has been poured and then some kind of tread pattern pressed into the surface, he says. Better is concrete poured and dried, then a diamond pattern cut into the surface to help hold an organic pack substrate in place such as cornstalks, some kind of bedding, or possibly dry manure.

Handling should be slowed down to remove stress from the cattle. Dehydration, such as occurs with long-haul trucking, is a major contributor to abscesses, because the first place cattle lose circulation is in their extremities, he says.

Treatment options

Abscesses need to be drained by nipping off the toe of the damaged hoof for toe abscesses, or the majority of the sole for sole abscesses. Terrell says he’s heard complaints about exposure of the hoof interior to dirt, but he replies that he’ll gladly trade some dirt for pus.

When left without drainage, the infection only has two options: travel up into the leg, or leak out at the top of the hoof along the coronary band.

One of the problems with hoof treatment is safe access to feet for the veterinarians and other workers. The only solutions for this are tilt-table cattle chutes or a foot-tieand-pulley system to restrain the feet.

Terrell adds that in post-processing in feedyards, it is fairly normal to see a slight increase in lameness of perhaps 1% to 3%, which he attributes to normal “bumps and bruises.” If any higher, it’s time to evaluate some of the causes in your feedyard.

Correct diagnosis of the causes of lameness when the condition first appears could pay significant dividends. Toe abscesses need to be drained as soon as possible, or the infection can move up the leg.

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By: Livestock Marketing Association

Livestock auctions in the United States have prioritized quality animal handling over the last decade and will continue to do so moving forward.

Livestock auction markets serve a vital role in the beef supply chain with approximately 31 million head of cattle marketed through the nearly 1,000 regularly selling livestock auction markets in the U.S. (2016 USDA Packers and Stockyards Division Annual Report). Producers gain many benefits from the auctions, including price discovery, a guarantee of a good check, and other services offered by the livestock market and veterinarian on site. For buyers, it is an opportunity to compare type and kind and collect needed quantities.

In this fast-paced sale environment, handling livestock according to quality standards is a primary focus of auction markets, both to meet buyer demand and protect the investment of consignors that depend upon the auctions to market their livestock. Because of this, a livestock auction specific animal handling program is one of the cornerstone services that Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) provides to the more than 800 local livestock auction markets and dealer businesses that are members of LMA.

“Ten years ago, we recognized there were several tools that focused on low stress animal handling in a farm, ranch, or feedlot setting but none focused on the unique challenges that livestock auction markets faced,” said Kristen Parman, Vice President of Membership Services with the LMA.

With that in mind, in 2008, LMA leadership led an effort to create a set of guidelines for handling livestock in an auction market setting, resulting in the Livestock Marketing Association Guide to Animal Handling. The guidelines outline the theories of low stress animal handling and movement as promoted in Beef Quality Assurance (BQA), Stockmanship and Stewardship, and other programs, but are tailored to an auction setting for market employees.

“The LMA member auction markets wanted to know what they could be doing better and opened the door for input and more training,” said Parman.

Since 2009, all livestock auction market members of the LMA are required to undergo an onsite evaluation of their employee’s handling practices, followed up by employee training and education in the proper way to handle and care for animals. In 2012, in an unprecedented move, the members of LMA approved a ballot initiative requiring all members to adhere to LMA’s Animal Handling Guidelines or face expulsion from the Association.

Parman said, “The livestock auction markets involved with LMA made it clear that they were committed to doing the right thing when it comes to handling the livestock which their customers entrust to their care and that they will not stand for someone failing to abide by those same standards.”

Despite the proactive approach and continued improvement sought by LMA and other association-led handling assessments, naysayers can claim these programs were “the fox watching the hen house.” In 2014, to address this and add an additional layer of accountability and review of LMA’s handling of the assessments, LMA entered into an agreement with Validus, an independent certification firm that is now a wholly owned division of Where Food Comes From, Inc.

As part of the third-party layer of LMA’s handling programs, Validus randomly draws 5 percent of LMA member auctions to participate in a third-party assessment each year. The assessments focus on the same standards that LMA staff conduct in the normal second-party assessments - low stress handling, tools, proper movement and handling of compromised livestock, safe and proper euthanasia techniques, employee training, and documentation.

In 2017, LMA staff conducted 77 second-party assessments of member livestock auctions and training with more than 900 market employees. This was supplemented with 30 additional third-party assessments led by Validus. Overall, the results from these assessments show great improvement in animal handling as well as some common challenge areas presenting room for continued improvement.

“We’ve been very pleased with the resulting awareness of proper tool usage by market employees and the commitment to have policy and protocol in place for handling compromised livestock,” said Parman. “These improvements are evidence that our market managers are committed to the effort.”

In the third-party assessments, assessors evaluate the frequency of slips and falls. LMA guidelines are for no more than 1% of animals to fall during movement as this can result in bruising or other more serious injuries to the animal. Thankfully, the frequency of slips and falls can be managed with attention to footing and low stress movement techniques to slow down the pace of animals moving through the auction and working with producers to manage herds by culling more effectively.

LMA guidelines recommend that a trained market employee be present for all loading or unloading; however, assessments reveal that a large number of markets face staffing challenges and do not have employees available to be there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Many have employees on call for off-hour trucks. LMA has worked to expand the training from market owners and managers to as many of their employees as possible.

Another common challenge is producers delivering animals to auction in a compromised condition. It is imperative that producers take responsibility for timely culling decisions and not send animals to auction that cannot with- stand the movement through the sale to final delivery. If an animal arrives injured, down, or otherwise disabled, action should be taken immediately to limit any further injury. This may include sending the animal home with the producer or immediately euthanizing before any further movement. While LMA and partner organizations have worked on producer education on timely culling, this is a difficult and ongoing task.

In the past decade, the local markets that are members of Livestock Marketing Association have taken direct action to promote and embrace their responsibility to be transparent while providing quality care and handling. Livestock auctions see continued focus on animal handling as part of the tremendous service they offer to the industry and especially the thousands of farm families that depend on them.