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Hoof Health and Reproduction
Bill Ayars, DVM, Select Sires, Inc.

Have you ever arrived home at the end of the day and your feet were so sore you could hardly stand? Imagine how your cows must feel when they have sore feet. Most producers are aware that hoof problems can decrease productivity, but did you know that they also can disrupt reproductivity? Routine hoof trimming can alleviate and prevent the development of painful hoof lesions, and improve reproductive performance.

What causes hoof disease?
Causes of non-infectious hoof disease -which can influence the hoof health of the entire herd -include nutrition imbalances, housing management, level of exercise, cattle behavior and the environment. Systemic
illness, increasing age, poor conformation and stage of lactation also can contribute to non-infectious hoof disease in individual animals.

How does this relate to reproduction?
Hoof disease, while seemingly simple, can result in a domino effect of problems. For example, when a first-calf heifer enters the milking string, her routine changes completely. She has new feed, new herdmates and
anew surface on which to walk, and is handled differently. Even if she had an uneventful calving experience, these factors alone can create stress. Add calving problems to that, and she’ll find it difficult
to get on the right track.

In a vicious circle of events, this stress predisposes her to developing foot problems. Now she’s not only stressed from a change of routine, but hoof problems also compound her problems. She stops going to the bunk to eat because it hurts to walk and stand to eat. She becomes metabolically stressed, which slows her estrus cycle.

Common sense tells us that when cows are in heat, those, with hoof problems may not stand or ride simply due to the pain of being on their feet. And, even when these cows are in heat, their stressed metabolism
makes it that much harder to become pregnant. Research suggests lame cows with hoof lesions were approximately 52 percent less likely to conceive than non-lame cows2. In addition, the number of breedings per conception was significantly higher in lame cows with hoof lesions than in non-lame cows (five compared to three). The median time to conception was 40 days longer in lame cows with hoof lesions when compared to healthy cows.

The post-partum female also is susceptible to developing ‘ovarian cysts. Research suggests lame cows within 30 days post-partum are nearly three times more likely to develop ovarian cysts prior to the first breeding than non-lame cows3.