Foot bathing is an essential and effective way of controlling DD, Foul and other infectious causes of lameness.
Good cow flow is required as a steady pace means less splashing and longer contact time with the chemical solution.
The footbath needs to be comfortable to walk through and the floor should not be ridged or slippery. It should be on a level surface with the bath floor the same level as the entrance and exit floor.
The best way to assess cow flow is to watch your herd using the footbath. Cows with their heads held high is an indication that they are stressed, cows walk naturally with heads held low and they look where to place their feet. Check that there is no backlog of cows building up from exiting the parlour.
Ideally the footbath needs to be filled 12cm deep with solution to cover the skin above the hoof and be at least 3m to 3.5m long to ensure every foot is placed into the solution at least twice. Wide designs of 150cm to 250cm work well if a faster through put is required and allows hesitant cows to be passed and not cause a backlog.
Formalin between 2 and 5% and copper sulphate at 4-5% dilution rate are commonly used. Environmental temperatures can affect foot bathing; very cold water in winter will make most chemicals less effective and hot weather can make formalin evaporate sooner so prepare when needed.
Automatic systems need to be monitored regularly to make sure correct dilution rates are being used, check chemical levels for usage and make sure that you have plenty of product in stock, especially if bathing daily.
Frequency will depend on prevalence in the herd, seriousness of lesions and cleanliness of feet. But bathing must be done correctly each time for effective control and to be cost efficient.
Written by Gary Hawker, Vet Tech
