From a Plastruct News Release
Plastruct Canada Inc. has broadened their Flagship Agriculture Product Line to include a footbath for dairy cows and sheep. Our newest engineered product is the Bovine Footbath designed for hoof disease prevention on farms. Plastruct’s new footbath is not suitable for treatment of active painful lesions, but as an effective measure to prevent the spread of infection from cow to cow.
Sheep and cattle are prone to bacterial hoof infections that can be debilitating. A common condition in cattle is "foot rot" which is an infection of the soft tissue between the claws of the feet and is caused by two anaerobic bacteria. These bacteria are common in the environment in the rumen and feces of normal cattle. When the bacteria invade the skin of the foot, they rapidly cause the condition of foot rot. Injury or damage to the skin between the claws allows this invasion to occur. Common factors that can cause damage of this sort include stubble fields, small rocks and pebbles, and abrasive surfaces. Additionally, high temperatures and excess moisture or humidity causes the skin between the claws to chap and crack allowing these bacteria to invade.
Plastruct’s Footbath design is a compilation of recommendations from highly esteemed University of Wisconsin Veterinary Medicine Department research and local Ontario Dairy Farmers. The animals are directed through the foot bath which should be located in the return alley the cows to use to exit the milking parlour. In order to prevent cows from stalling in front of the footbath and blocking the return alley, the footbath should be located two-thirds of the distance down the lane from the milking parlour. Plastruct’s design has high "V" shaped sides that keep the cow looking forward and to ensure that they can’t step outside the bath as they can with baths with no side walls.
The foot baths should be filled to a depth of at least 4" to 6" of solution, slightly less for sheep. The foot bath is 12 feet long and can be preceded by a wash bath containing only water, or water and detergent, to remove manure from the feet prior to passing through the treatment bath. However, video research showed that cows naturally defecate as soon as they step into water and they foul not only the cleaning bath but the solution bath as well. A better use of space would be the full 12’ of footbath solution.
The main criteria for determining the frequency of using the footbath is the cleanliness of the cows’ legs. Herd with more manure contamination of the lower legs with need to use the bath more often. For example, fair cleanliness being 2 days a week and poor being 5 days per week. Page 2 Plastruct Canada Inc. New Product Release- Bovine Footbath
Plastruct’s footbath design consists of 2 six foot long baths that are linked together. The floor of the Plastruct footbath is narrower to allow for a deeper bath with a recommended depth of 4-6" of solution and each is lined with a non slip pad. The baths are separated with a higher bright gold curb as a cost saving measure to prevent fouling of one bath to another and spillage of the cleaning agent or disinfectants. This design works well on slanted or uneven floors. The "V" shaped sides keep the animal looking forward and prevents it from stepping outside of the bath. Tests conducted show that the rear hooves were submerged the recommended 3 x per pass through the 12’ of bath. The footbaths should be flushed out and refilled with new solution approximately every 200 cows so that the solution is clean enough that the active ingredients are still effective.
We ensure quick turnaround to suit our customers scheduling.
For more information visit the Plastruct website at http://www.polyzone.com
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