When temperature-humidity index, or THI, increases, claw lesions often follow around two months later. This two-month lag means that by the time lame cows begin to appear in greater numbers, the hot spell that contributed to the problem may already be forgotten. The result is that farms end up treating the aftermath without fully addressing the cause.
Heat stress is usually discussed in terms of milk drop, poor fertility and cows bunching around water troughs, however in a recent RASE Farm of the Future webinar, Chloe Rodriguez from Galebreaker made the case for looking further ahead.
Speaking in the webinar, she highlighted that when temperature-humidity index, or THI, increases, claw lesions often follow around two months later. This two-month lag means that by the time lame cows begin to appear in greater numbers, the hot spell that contributed to the problem may already be forgotten. The result is that farms end up treating the aftermath without fully addressing the cause.