feet - is it me

jeanthomas · Post by **jeanthomas** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 5:13 pm

Maybe you will think me mad but here goes. Has anyone any views on feet. I have kept a few dexters for many years. Firstly short then non-short, and now back to short. What I am finding is the non short need much more attention to feet than short? Have finally found a foot trimmer who turns up, but in the main it has only been the non short who needed attention!

Any views on this or am I mad?

jean

Rutherford · Post by **Rutherford** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 7:12 pm

Your experience does seem unlucky. Apart from the fact that every short has to have a long gene to provide its existence, it is the short whose skeleton is influenced and reduced by the effect of bulldog gene.
Usually in my experience the reverse is true and it is the short that needs trimming. The only treatment my non-short cows have known over the years is the very rare case of a lame cow.
Beryl (Woodmagic)

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 8:09 pm

I've got a mixed herd, all types, and I have noticed some types need more feet trimming than others but not really to do with short or non short. Also, this year seems to be considerably worse than previous years on my farm. We are trimming far more than usual I think. My trimmers will be coming in for a 4th visit soon!

jeanthomas · Post by **jeanthomas** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 8:11 pm

thank you Beryl for your reply. Very interesting. Any one else have a view on this?

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 8:44 pm

When I began with dexters I milked my cows and fed them hard. Their feet grew and I blamed the feed, but since I have gone greener and only feed grass, hay and enough magnesium cake to ward off staggers, some individuals still grow feet and need regular trimming. They seem to grow length of feet without the huge thickness of sole that larger breeds get, and for the most part trimming is relatively easy. I usually find that when I clean the long foot up the wall projects beyond the sole all round but mostly at the toe, and I use "diamond" hoof cutters made for horses rather than the huge compound action hoof cutters usually supplied for cattle work. I begin at the heel and nip off the excess wall all round and end at the toe. Sometimes I need to take a little off the sole but not often in cows.
Other individuals never ever have any trimming done.

Duncan

Sylvia · Post by **Sylvia** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 9:26 pm

I suspect that in all animals it is an inherited trait that some animals have quicker growing feet than others. Quite apart from the difference that walking on hard ground or feeding adds to the equation. It is particularly noticeable in the alpacas where a sire with quick growing feet will pass this on to his offspring and those who hardly ever need trimming will have youngsters with similar low maintenance requirements. I don't see why Dexters should be any different. Time to ask how many times the bull of your choice has needed his feet trimmed maybe?

wagra dexters · Post by **wagra dexters** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 12:28 am

Sylvia, I agree that it is an inherited trait, because even in a soft paddock some will grow and some will wear down at an acceptable rate. In a hard paddock the difference is still obvious, though all will wear better, and sires are indicated.
We definitely do not contemplate hoof-trimming, so if any give cause for concern they are culled. In our herd it has nothing to do with speed of growth but more to do with low heels and weak pasterns than the actual foot. Only one in fifty is at present being scowled upon, and even so the foot is not twisted or deformed, just much too long.
Margaret.

Louisa Gidney · Post by **Louisa Gidney** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 6:36 am

I've never trimmed the feet of any of my cattle in 20+ years. Some of the cows' toes are long at turn out but the ends trim themselves off once the cows are walking about again, the mad gallop on release from the barn for example! I agree that some herds/family lines appear to have feet that need attention regularly. I have managed to avoid introducing them to my herd.

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 8:25 am

Is there a difference between cows and bulls because all my bulls have erect, short feet that will never need trimming. Or maybe it's just luck of the draw.

Saffy · Post by **Saffy** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 8:34 am

Hello Clive,

Judging by the pics of some of the bulls I have seen for sale I think you are lucky!

Going back to the subject of cows, I would say age is also a factor but breeding would be top of my list! When we bought in an old cow recently, (she had been milked a good deal of her life and may well have been fed high protien dairy nuts,) we had to trim her feet, that was over 6 months ago and they don't seem to be growing but they might in the winter. All the others are young cows they and the and the bull have perfect looking feet thus far.

Stephanie

wagra dexters · Post by **wagra dexters** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 3:12 am

Hi Stephanie,
Age hasn't been a factor in hoof deterioration in our experience. Our five original big old Ben Macdhui cows weren't culled until they were well into their teens, and their excellent feet and legs were commented on by the commercial carrier at the yards.
Margaret.

Saffy · Post by **Saffy** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:55 am

To be honest Wagra - and as you are aware I haven't owned my lovely Dexters long and therefore base most of my theories on experience gained in the Friesian/Holstein area and some things don't transfer well. The black and whites could have great feet for the first 3 or 4 lactations and then gradually deteriorate to awful things that eventually even determined trimming couldn't sort out for any length of time. Not always I hasten to add - and it happened much less as time went on and feet in our her became very good indeed, as it was the top of my list when I looked for traits in a bull- still is now! Legs and feet is definitely one thing to breed for and with the AI for them, even in those days there was a linear assessment of the progeny and so in theory it was easy to choose a bull for the traits that were important to you.

Undoubtedly if a young cow has well proportioned feet she is much less likely to grow toe when older as they should be more likely to wear evenly but a young cow with a flat foot and shallow heel won't usually have much excess toe showing and isn't easy to pick out by anyone unused to looking for it.

Stephanie

wagra dexters · Post by **wagra dexters** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 10:26 am

Stephanie, unfortunately we don't have the conditions to run our stock to butterballs like the cattle on some of the videos that have come over here from the UK, so I don't know what our cows' feet would be like if we did.
Margaret.

Penny · Post by **Penny** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 9:45 am

My herd has a mixture of short and non-short, and all ages up to 17 years, with a lot of them at least 10 years old. In my experience the issue is definitely genetic, and it is obvious that foot growth varies between certain families of dexters despite being on the same ground and diet.

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 11:08 am

Yes, I agree with Penny. Since this matter was brought up I have looked around and it is generally related cattle on my farm that have the really bad feet.