Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
4
pubmed:dateCreated
2009-3-24
pubmed:abstractText
Identifying lame cows and quantifying the prevalence of lameness are important elements of cattle welfare assessment that are generally achieved by methods involving observations of each animal walking. There is no published method for assessing lameness in cows confined in tie-stalls. The objective of this study (carried out within the European Commission's Welfare Quality(R) project) was to develop a suitable method and validate it for lameness detection against a published locomotion score. A series of indicators of lameness visible in tied cows was formalized into a stall assessment protocol. This was validated against a traditional locomotion score and tested for repeatability between 2 observers. A total of 98 cows on 4 farms were assessed. Overall interobserver agreement was 91%. Sensitivity compared with locomotion scoring was 0.54 to 0.77, dependent on observer and threshold definition. Assessment in the stall underestimated the herd prevalence of lameness revealed by locomotion scoring by 11 to 37% (mean 27%). The discrepancy between herd lameness prevalence assessed in the stall and by locomotion scoring was not affected significantly by farm or observer. The cases of lameness that were not detected in the stall tended to be the least severe. The proposed method for lameness detection in tie-stalls could be used for herd-level assessment of lameness and detection of individual lame animals by farmers and their advisors, but it is important to remember that it is less sensitive than locomotion scoring.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Apr
pubmed:issn
1525-3198
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:volume
92
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
1567-74
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2009
pubmed:articleTitle
Assessing lameness in cows kept in tie-stalls.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Langford House, Langford, BS40 5DU, United Kingdom. k.leach@bristol.ac.uk
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't