Consequently, there is a need for easy to use and effective lameness detection systems in pasture-based herds. This difficulty is exacerbated by environmental factors, such as wind, sunlight, and rainfall, that the observer and cows might be exposed to during the scoring exercise. Additionally, especially on farms with herringbone parlours, it can be challenging to individually observe every cow when they leave the parlour because cows exit the parlour in batches. Thus, ensuring staff availability for LS during a period of high workload can be challenging to achieve. However, in New Zealand, dairy farms are generally large with a high ratio of cows to staff (mean 146 cows per full-time equivalent staff member ). This practice requires trained staff (in addition to those needed for milking) to stand outside the parlour exit for the whole of the milking session. However, in pasture-based production systems such as those which predominate in New Zealand, opportunities for LS are generally limited to around milking time, with, ideally, the cows being observed as they exit the milking parlour after milking. Currently, locomotion scoring (LS) is the most commonly used method of lameness detection on-farm. However, early diagnosis requires effective detection methods that can be easily employed on the farm. IPS has the potential to be an alternative to LS on pasture-based dairy farms.Įarlier detection accompanied by effective treatment would reduce the prevalence and impact of lameness. Utilising the IPS indicators, a decision tree machine learning procedure classified cows with locomotion score class ≥2 with a true positive rate of 75% and a false positive rate of 0.2%. Using a threshold of two or more positive indicators were optimal (sensitivity > 92% and specificity > 98%). Sensitivity and specificity of individual IPS indicators and one or more, two or more or three positive indicators for detecting cows with locomotion scores ≥ 2 were calculated. Observed for shifting weight, abnormal weight distribution, swollen heel or hock joint, and overgrown hoof. For nine months on two dairy farms, whole herd LS (4-point 0–3 scale) was followed 24 h later by IPS, with cows being milked. Scoring in the milking parlour may be more achievable, so this study compared an in-parlour scoring (IPS) technique with LS in pasture-based dairy cows. Currently, locomotion scoring (LS) is the most widely used method of early detection but has significant limitations in pasture-based cattle and is not commonly used routinely in New Zealand. Earlier detection followed by efficient treatment can reduce the impact of lameness.
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