Mortellaro/Digital Dermatitis

morclc

Some of our cows have mortellaro/digital dermatitis. Does anyone have any advice of how to treat and control it?

freedominacup

morclc wrote: »

Some of our cows have mortellaro/digital dermatitis. Does anyone have any advice of how to treat and control it?

Footbathing. Bluestone and formalin for control. To treat you'll need lincomycin. You can add it to Footbath if you have limitless funds but usually wash hooves with power hose and apply it to heels with a garden sprayer. Relatively easy to treat and control just a pita. You will have repeat infections. Regular footbathing will increase the interval between infections.

morclc

freedominacup wrote: »

Footbathing. Bluestone and formalin for control. To treat you'll need lincomycin. You can add it to Footbath if you have limitless funds but usually wash hooves with power hose and apply it to heels with a garden sprayer. Relatively easy to treat and control just a pita. You will have repeat infections. Regular footbathing will increase the interval between infections.

Thanks for the reply. Do you know if intra hoof fit gel or healmax are any good?

Keepgrowing

morclc wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. Do you know if intra hoof fit gel or healmax are any good?

Healmax gel spray is excellent for infections.

Form at 7% with Per acetic acid at 1% in footbath. Foot bath for 3 consecutive days this week 3 next and the following week.

Then drop to 3% Form for 2 milkings per week. Max 160 cows per bath. Never leave bath that cows have walked through till next day.

It can't be eradicated but control is very doable. Wash infected hooves, lift foot and apply bandage with lincocin paste, remove after 4 days.

Passages need scraping very regularly and try to keep on to of hygiene. If you could remove infected animals to paddock or straw it really speeds up healing.

We run every animal through a form foot bath every week while dry and 2 milkings per week for rest of the year

Foot bath
Foot bath
Foot bath
Foot bath...............

whelan2

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Healmax gel spray is excellent for infections.

Form at 7% with Per acetic acid at 1% in footbath. Foot bath for 3 consecutive days this week 3 next and the following week.

Then drop to 3% Form for 2 milkings per week. Max 160 cows per bath. Never leave bath that cows have walked through till next day.

It can't be eradicated but control is very doable. Wash infected hooves, lift foot and apply bandage with lincocin paste, remove after 4 days.

Passages need scraping very regularly and try to keep on to of hygiene. If you could remove infected animals to paddock or straw it really speeds up healing.

We run every animal through a form foot bath every week while dry and 2 milkings per week for rest of the year

Foot bath
Foot bath
Foot bath
Foot bath...............

We stopped footbathig a few years ago. All's good, found it spread it more, treat individually , get hoofcare man often too. Keep sheds,yards and passges clean. How do you dispose of the used footbath solution, this is going to be a biggy going forward?

Keepgrowing

whelan2 wrote: »

We stopped footbathig a few years ago. All's good, found it spread it more, treat individually , get hoofcare man often too. Keep sheds,yards and passges clean. How do you dispose of the used footbath solution, this is going to be a biggy going forward?

Into slats, absolute no issue with Formalin. It's copper and zinc are the issue.

morclc

Thanks for the help. For the cows that have mortellaro, how many times would they need to be sprayed with lincomycin before you would see an improvement? If there was a cow just starting mortellaro would the copper sulphate footbath be enough to stop it?

Keepgrowing

morclc wrote: »

Thanks for the help. For the cows that have mortellaro, how many times would they need to be sprayed with lincomycin before you would see an improvement? If there was a cow just starting mortellaro would the copper sulphate footbath be enough to stop it?

I've no real faith in copper or zinc sulphate, some do but our big problem here is mortellaro and we find Formaldehyde the most effective. Try the Healmax spray gel it's really effective and quick if gotten in time.

Mooooo

Alamycin spray can help too

morclc

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Into slats, absolute no issue with Formalin. It's copper and zinc are the issue.

Why cant the copper sulpahte go into the slats? How are you suppose to dispose of it?

freedominacup

Keepgrowing wrote: »

I've no real faith in copper or zinc sulphate, some do but our big problem here is mortellaro and we find Formaldehyde the most effective. Try the Healmax spray gel it's really effective and quick if gotten in time.

We use copper in conjunction with formalin here, always have. Maybe we're wasting money. From memory formalin for treating the problem and copper for hardening the hoof but it could be the other way around. The md of waterford frs was well known as a hoof care expert in his earlier years and he gave the formula to us years ago. Even with the new herd infections have gone from twice yearly to not being seen for the past twelve months. New herd had no resistance and every cow got a blast of it for the first couple of years.

Keepgrowing

morclc wrote: »

Why cant the copper sulpahte go into the slats? How are you suppose to dispose of it?

No problem in my view. My reply was was to a post questioning the disposal of formaldehyde which is harmless when dumped in slurry.