FOOTBATHS
Lameness is one of the biggest problems within the dairy industry with the average cost of an incidence, in terms of treatment costs, loss of yield and potential for shortened productive life of the cow in the region of £180; at current levels of incidence this could equate to a financial loss of nearly £15,000 for an average-sized herd, or to put it another way, a cost of well over 1p per litre of milk produced on the farm. (AHDB)
Leading experts in cattle lameness actively promote the regular use of footbaths, particularly for dairy cows to reduce the incidences of lameness caused by digital dermatitis and such like in the herd.
Recent recommendations include having two footbaths, the first containing just water and the second with the solution. This reduces solution contamination, thus leading to a more effective treatment and reduction in solution usage.
The standard precast concrete footbath that we supply is 4000mm (13’2″) long x 1100m (3’7″) wide x 300mm (1′) deep, but other sizes are available.
Features & benefits of the Precast Concrete Footbaths include:
- Are durable and robust.
- Supplied with a 100mm (4”) bung so can drain quickly, as and when required into either the tank below if on suspended floor or into connected outlet pipe if on a solid floor.
- Available in a range of sizes to suit the application.
- Can supply with additional inlets or outlets located on either the bottom or side of the footbath if required.
- Standard footbath has a curved inner wall designed to prevent loss of solution when the animal is passing through
- Can supply with a slightly roughened surface to provide secure footing for the livestock.
- Are supplied with lifting sockets to simplify installation.
- Option of painted surface to prevent corrosion of the surface by solution.
- Suitable for use on either a solid floor or suspended on a tank or slurry channel.
- Won’t move when the animal is passing through.