Natasha Jaques, Sally-Anne Turner, Emilie Vallee, Cord Heuer, Laura Deeming, Nicolas Lopez-Villalobos
{"title":"Prevalence and incidence rate of clinical lameness in three New Zealand dairy goat farms","authors":"Natasha Jaques, Sally-Anne Turner, Emilie Vallee, Cord Heuer, Laura Deeming, Nicolas Lopez-Villalobos","doi":"10.1080/00288233.2023.2267516","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Clinical lameness has an impact on animal welfare and profitability in different livestock industries. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence and incidence rate of clinical lameness within New Zealand dairy goat farms. Up to 3246 goats on three dairy goat farms were observed 4–5 times over one year. Data on locomotion scores and animal information were collected between June 2019 and June 2020. A 5-point (0–4) locomotion scoring scale was used, where scores 3 and 4 were classified as clinical lameness. The average herd-level prevalence of clinical lameness for farms A, B, and C were 23, 12, and 10%, respectively. The annual incidence rate of clinical lameness for farms A, B, and C were 104, 56, and 55 cases per 100 goat-years, respectively. Lameness appears to be a significant welfare issue, with incidence varying between farms and between goats. Investigating both farm-level and goat-level factors is required to understand the epidemiology of lameness and design evidence-based control and prevention measures. Further investigation should be undertaken to identify variables affecting the goat's odds of becoming clinically lame. This study sets the foundation for future study of lameness in commercial dairy goat farms nationally and internationally.","PeriodicalId":19287,"journal":{"name":"New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research","volume":"24 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5000,"publicationDate":"2023-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00288233.2023.2267516","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"AGRICULTURE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Clinical lameness has an impact on animal welfare and profitability in different livestock industries. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence and incidence rate of clinical lameness within New Zealand dairy goat farms. Up to 3246 goats on three dairy goat farms were observed 4–5 times over one year. Data on locomotion scores and animal information were collected between June 2019 and June 2020. A 5-point (0–4) locomotion scoring scale was used, where scores 3 and 4 were classified as clinical lameness. The average herd-level prevalence of clinical lameness for farms A, B, and C were 23, 12, and 10%, respectively. The annual incidence rate of clinical lameness for farms A, B, and C were 104, 56, and 55 cases per 100 goat-years, respectively. Lameness appears to be a significant welfare issue, with incidence varying between farms and between goats. Investigating both farm-level and goat-level factors is required to understand the epidemiology of lameness and design evidence-based control and prevention measures. Further investigation should be undertaken to identify variables affecting the goat's odds of becoming clinically lame. This study sets the foundation for future study of lameness in commercial dairy goat farms nationally and internationally.
期刊介绍:
The New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research publishes original research papers, review papers, short communications, book reviews, letters, and forum articles. We welcome submissions on all aspects of animal and pastoral science relevant to temperate and subtropical regions. The journal''s subject matter includes soil science, fertilisers, insect pests, plant pathology, weeds, forage crops, management systems, agricultural economics, agronomy, and animal science. The journal also accepts crossover papers on subjects such as land –water interactions.