How to Best Treat Strawberry Foot in Cattle

As a hoof trimmer, I often get the question about how to treat Strawberry Foot in cattle, and I’ve decided to write a post with some successful tips.   Treatments for the severe cases of Strawberry Foot, we’ve tackled with a wrap or bandage on the hoof to ensure a longer contact time. At the same time, we will use hoof-spraying methods or foot baths to take care of the entire pen or herd.   Strawberry Foot is a severe problem, and many options are being suggested for treatments. I have put helpful facts below to give clarity on the best approach for your herd.  

Wrapping the hoof for fastest and proven results

  Although the wrapping of a foot is perceived as a ‘lot of work’, as a hoof trimmer, I have not come across any other successful way to treat a Strawberry foot (same as Digital Dermatitis or hairy wart). The Intra Hoof-fit Gel is currently the only antibiotic-free medicine available in Canada being backed by scientific research. Health Canada has approved this OTC (over-the counter) drug with a DIN and there are no withdrawals for meat and milk applicable. I would like to share some results of the various research that proves that wrapping with the Intre Hoof-fit Gel is your best alternative.  

Product	Number of Cows treated	Number of cows cured	Cure Rates
Intra Hoof-Fit Gel DIN 02441284	94	86	92%
CTC Spray (Chlortetracycline) Veterinary prescription required	88	51	58%

   

Product: Intra Hoof-Fit Gel DIN 02441284	Number of Cows treated	Number of cows cured on D7	Number of cows cured on D10	Cure Rates
25 lesions were treated with Intra Hoof-fit Gel	25	25	25	100%
25 lesions were used as untreated controls	25	0	0	0%

  It is of course a challenge for a large dairy farm or feedlot operator to treat lameness with wrapping. I can just imagine, having hundreds or thousands of cows on the farm and to sort the lame cows daily is pretty well a nearly impossible chore. Handling lameness in these types of situations by adding blanket treatment methods: the spraying of the hooves or the foot baths. In all fairness and honesty, the better and successful option remains the wrapping of the bad ones.  

Use hoof spraying as a valuable tool

  In my Southern Alberta neighbourhood, I spoke with a few feedlot operators and their veterinarians, to find an effective way to battle and prevent the Strawberry foot ‘pandemic’. Traditionally, we used foot baths and even medication in the rations, but both of these methods seemed not to hit the target for success. Spraying the hooves with a disinfection product and after that with the Intra Hoof Sol Spray, seems to be the combination for success. The spraying method has the following benefits:  

• Fresh product on the right spot on every single hoof
• Focused approach and you can see what you are doing
• No dumping of unused product – less waste and $ savings

  We have done one case study on a few research farms where they ran only a one-time per week preventive spraying session and were able to reduce a significant level of hoof problems within eight weeks.   The ready-to-use Intra Hoof Sol Spray is registered in Canada as a VHP (Veterinary Health Product – NN.U5D5 ) to maintain, support, and promote healthy hooves and dermis.   Much needs to be tested and tried to find the ‘golden path’ between a practical flow for the cattle to apply these methods. We are working on some tools to optimize the applications and look forward to feedlots or dairy farms who would like to provide feedback or would like to participate in testing these tools – just drop us a message if you are interested.  

Is prevention with foot baths an option?

  Foot baths have been around for many years and in all kinds of shapes and forms. Some success appears to have been booked in the past, but currently, that success seems to be in a downward trend. I’ve put some factors for a failing foot bath method in the table below and compared it to the spraying method.  

Observation	Spraying Method	Foot bath method
Fresh and Clean product for every hoof – even cow #200	✔	x
Avoid the dumping of unused product in the environment	✔	x
Saving on labour to set up and cleanout	✔	x
Focussed on the hooves while applying products (monitor progress)	✔	x
Winter conditions have an impact on these management efforts	❆	❆
Concentrations are often not right (correct water vs product)	–	✔
Proven success backed by independent research *	✔	✔

  The foot bath method appears to be easier because you can prepare the solution before-hand and continue with your work, for example milking cows or processing cattle. This does not apply to the spraying method – you will need an extra guy to spray the hooves. It really comes down to the bang for the buck and your farm’s setup.  If you want different results than what you’re getting, you have to try different approaches.  

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.” Albert Einstein

 

Don’t ‘Abandon Ship‘ to fast – test and measure

  As with everything in life, it’s best to create an action plan. Ask yourself the following questions to make decisions that will work for you:  

• Is there a safe and logical/practical way to lift up the bad hooves and apply a wrap? If so, how and where can I set up a chute?
• How can I spray all back hooves of my cattle – this can be in the milking robot, the milking parlour, dry cow & young stock barns? How can I put my pen of cattle through the tub and set up a spraying system?
• How big is my foot bath and what concentration would I have to put in to make it a possible success? After how many cows will I need to change the solution? For our feedlot operators: will the floors around the foot bath be too slippery in the winter months and what effect has the weather on a drenched foot in -30 C weather? Or is it economically feasible to build a heated barn for foot baths or spraying?

  Test and measure success – look for proven and safe products that will help you gaining control of the hoof health of your cattle.