By Bargai, U. and Cohen, R., Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 1992
Description
Degenerative joint disease of the tarsi was diagnosed in 20 of 24 Holstein bulls with tarsal lameness at 2 artificial insemination centres from 1975 to 1987. Each of the 2 centres housed about 100 bulls/yr. Of the 24 bulls with tarsal lameness, 22 were from the artificial insemination centre designated as A, and 2 were from the centre designated as B. Examination of the housing and management procedures revealed that centre A had concrete floors with cuboidal-shaped yards, whereas centre B had deep sand flooring, with long, narrow yards. The only other difference between the 2 centres was that centre A used 1- and 2-year-old bulls as teasers for older, heavier bulls to mount, whereas centre B used bulls that were at least 6 years old to withstand the stress placed on their hind limbs by weight of bulls undergoing semen collection. Radiographical lesions of tarsi of bulls from both centre ranged from distension of the tibiotarsal joint pouch to hypertrophic degenerative osteoarthritis of the distal, intertarsal, and tarsometatarsal joints. It was concluded that the concrete flooring and the semen collecting practices were responsible for the high prevalence of tarsal lameness and degenerative joint disease of the tarsi in bulls housed at centre A
Degenerative joint disease of the tarsi was diagnosed in 20 of 24 Holstein bulls with tarsal lameness at 2 artificial insemination centres from 1975 to 1987. Each of the 2 centres housed about 100 bulls/yr. Of the 24 bulls with tarsal lameness, 22 were from the artificial insemination centre designated as A, and 2 were from the centre designated as B. Examination of the housing and management procedures revealed that centre A had concrete floors with cuboidal-shaped yards, whereas centre B had deep sand flooring, with long, narrow yards. The only other difference between the 2 centres was that centre A used 1- and 2-year-old bulls as teasers for older, heavier bulls to mount, whereas centre B used bulls that were at least 6 years old to withstand the stress placed on their hind limbs by weight of bulls undergoing semen collection. Radiographical lesions of tarsi of bulls from both centre ranged from distension of the tibiotarsal joint pouch to hypertrophic degenerative osteoarthritis of the distal, intertarsal, and tarsometatarsal joints. It was concluded that the concrete flooring and the semen collecting practices were responsible for the high prevalence of tarsal lameness and degenerative joint disease of the tarsi in bulls housed at centre A
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