Lameness is the third most important factor affecting economic losses after mastitis and infertility in dairy herds. Lameness plays an important role in increasing culling rate, mastitis and decreasing reproduction performance. One of the most important factors, causing non-infectious lameness, are metabolic disorders, which are more important around parturition and peak of lactation. Some of these disorders can be assessed through metabolic profile test (MPT). MPT by measuring energy, protein, and mineral indices, aids in diagnosis and prediction of such disorders. In this study ability of MPT findings in predicting lameness and non-infectious wounds in hooves were evaluated. The study took place in a dairy farm with 4200 milking cows and MPT was performed 8 times through 2 years. Five groups of cows were selected for sampling: fresh cows in second parity and higher, fresh heifers, high producers, moderate producers, and close-up cows. The following metabolites were measured in Sera of cows: glucose, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), cholesterol, total protein, albumin, globulin, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, AST, beta-hydroxy butyric acid (BHBA), and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA). Hoof trimming records were used in this study. Hoof trimming were done on the following basis: Cows in 100 – 120 days in milk, repeat breeders, high locomotion scored cows, dry cows and referred cows due to lameness. All new lameness and diseases occurrence were recorded. Sole ulcers in zone 4 and white line disease in zone 3, were evaluated from 3 month before to 3 month after MPT. All data were analyzed by ANCOVA in SAS software. Results showed that serum albumin and protein reduced significantly before occurrence of sole ulcer and hemorrhages in sole. AST significantly increased in cows with hemorrhage and sole ulcer. NEFA increased significantly before occurrence of hemorrhage and / or sole ulcer. High-scored and referred cows due to lameness had negative correlation with serum cholesterol concentrations. Cows with sole ulcer and hemorrhages showed higher level of calcium before injury (P<0.05). Although, there are some significant relationships between hoof disorders and serum biochemistry, but it remains to be elucidated whether MPT can play a major role as a predictor tool in these conditions. More studies need to be done to draw a practical conclusion. The present experiment as a preliminary study indicated that MPT has potential to act such a role.

Keywords