The healthy claws with the correct shape are needed for non-problematic locomotion and welfare of dairy cows. Into the study 120 Slovak spotted dairy cows were included. Cows were kept on one farm in west part of Slovakia. Claws of right hind legs were evaluated after the regular functional trimming in October 2016. Claw measures as claw angle, claw length, heel depth, claw height, diagonal and claw width were analysed. Firstly, after the functional trimming the measures by ruler were taken. Secondly, the digital images of the bottom and right lateral side with ruler by digital camera Olympus SP-600 UZ were taken. Computer image analysis of digital images was performed by using NIS Elements 3.0. In addition to 6 claw parameters, total and functional claw areas were obtained from image analysis. The statistical analysis, t test and correlation between two types of measurements were performed in SAS. The correlations and the differences between measurements obtained by image analysis and taken by hand were calculated. Obtained correlation ranged from 0.11 to 0.74. Except claw angle, all correlations were significant (P<0.01). The lowest correlations were found in claw angle. The highest were found in claw width. The highest differences were found in claw angle a diagonal. The mean claw length was lower than is optimal for similar breed. Total claw area was 46.85±7.19 cm2 and functional claw area was 26.79±6.05 cm2. The higher number of observations for one parameters (for example 3) is necessary to obtain more precise comparison between both applied methods. In the future, this technique could be use as objective and very effective tool to measure claw shape

Ján Tomka

Michal Vlček

Radovan Kasarda

English

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193Agriculturae Conspectus Scientifi cus . Vol. 82 (2017) No. 2 (193-196)ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC PAPERSummaryTh e healthy claws with the correct shape are needed for non-problematic locomotion and welfare of dairy cows. Into the study 120 Slovak spotted dairy cows were included. Cows were kept on one farm in west part of Slovakia. Claws of right hind legs were evaluated aft er the regular functional trimming in October 2016. Claw measures as claw angle, claw length, heel depth, claw height, diagonal and claw width were analysed. Firstly, aft er the functional trimming the measures by ruler were taken. Secondly, the digital images of the bottom and right lateral side with ruler by digital camera Olympus SP-600 UZ were taken. Computer image analysis of digital images was performed by using NIS Elements 3.0. In addition to 6 claw parameters, total and functional claw areas were obtained from image analysis. Th e statistical analysis, t test and correlation between two types of measurements were performed in SAS. Th e correlations and the diff erences between measurements obtained by image analysis and taken by hand were calculated. Obtained correlation ranged from 0.11 to 0.74. Except claw angle, all correlations were signifi cant (P<0.01). Th e lowest correlations were found in claw angle. Th e highest were found in claw width. Th e highest diff erences were found in claw angle a diagonal. Th e mean claw length was lower than is optimal for similar breed. Total claw area was 46.85±7.19 cm2 and functional claw area was 26.79±6.05 cm2. Th e higher number of observations for one parameters (for example 3) is necessary to obtain more precise comparison between both applied methods. In the future, this technique could be use as objective and very eff ective tool to measure claw shape.Key wordsclaw measure, dairy cow, image analysis, Slovak spotted cattleEvaluation of Claw Conformation by Using Two Methods of Measuring-by Ruler and Image Analysis Michal VLČEK 1( )Ján TOMKA 2Radovan KASARDA 11 Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding Biology, Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovak Republic e-mail: xvlcekm@uniag.sk2 National Agricultural and Food Centre - Research Institute of Animal Production Nitra, Hlohovecká 2, 951 41 Lužianky, Slovak RepublicReceived: May 15, 2017 | Accepted: September 12, 2017ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under the Con-tract No. APVV-14-0054. We would like to thank to Breeding Services of the Slovak Republic, s. e. for providing information about animals.Agric. conspec. sci. Vol. 82 (2017) No. 2194 Michal VLČEK, Ján TOMKA, Radovan KASARDAIntroductionTh e healthy claws with the correct shape are needed for good locomotion and welfare of dairy cows. Th e lameness in cows leads to decrease of milk production, worse reproduction parameters, and earlier culling from herd. Th e lameness has negative impact on economy of dairy cow herds. For the defi ni-tion a “gold standard” of trimming for cattle breeds kept under the present conditions the observations of claw measurements aft er hoof trimming are required. For more eff ective selection higher number of observations and more accurate data are nec-essary in animal breeding and livestock. Th e possible solution, how to obtain these data can be the implementation of new techniques. Flower et al. (2005) used kinematic gait analysis of dairy cows from video records for describing the diff erences between healthy cows and cows aff ected by claw pathologies. Ouweltjes et al. (2016) used the roentgen stereophotogrammetric analysis (RSA) to measure motions and deformations in loaded claws. Tsuka et al. (2014) used computer tomography to deter-mine how the variety of shapes of untrimmed claws (dorsal wall lengths, toe angles and heel heights) correlates with the internal structure of claws. From these studies is evident that the image analysis can be used effi  ciently in livestock. Also Archer et al. (2015) used X-ray for measuring of the dorsal wall of Holstein cows. Nuss and Paulus (2006) and Nuss et al. (2011) observed the claw parameters in Simmental cows. In both studies they used thickness of 5 mm at the apex and 8 mm at the heel for the standardisation of the observations. Somers et al. (2005) moni-tored the claw parameters of Holstein cows kept on the diff er-ent fl oor systems. Radišić et al. (2012) observed the measures of claws and their relations with body mass in Simmental bulls.Th e aims of this study were to compare the claw parameters aft er functional trimming measured by ruler and by digital image analysis, to say if it is possible to use the digital image analysis to evaluate the claw conformation and to discuss the optimal claw measures for normal locomotion.Materials and methodsIn total of 120 Slovak spotted dairy cows were included into the study. Cows were kept on one farm in west part of Slovakia. Claws of right hind legs were evaluated aft er the regular func-tional trimming during the fi xation in cage during the October 2016. Claw measures as claw angle, claw length, heel depth, claw height, diagonal and claw width on the lateral side of claw ac-cording to the methodology of Vermunt and Greenough (1995) were analysed. Firstly, aft er the functional trimming the measures by ruler were used. Secondly, the digital images of the bottom and right lateral side with ruler by digital camera Olympus SP-600UZ (Olympus Imaging Corp., Tokyo, Japan) were taken. At least two digital images were made for each animal. Digital image analysis was performed by using NIS Elements 3.0 (Laboratory Imaging, Praha). Moreover, the total and functional areas of claw were taken from image analysis. Th e data resulting from both methods of measurements were compared by using t test and the Pearson correlation. Th e statistical analysis was performed in SAS (version 9.2, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC).ResultsTotally, 120 Slovak spotted cows were used to compare the claw parameters aft er functional trimming measured by ruler and by digital image analysis. Th e average number of lactation was 2.81±1.72 with the maximum 8. Th e average days in milk was 191.74±122.84 (min=7, max=563). Not all cows had data about milk yield due to the calving aft er the test day. Th e av-erage milk yield of 106 dairy cows from the last test day was 22.27±8.92 (min=3.9, max=42.5) kg per day. In group of primipa-rous cows 31 animals were found with average age of 26.43±1.66 (min=24.66, max=32.07) month. In group of multiparous cows 89 were obtained with average age of 56.85±20.16 (min=34.18, max=116.43) month. Th e claw measures observed within both groups of cows are presented in table 1 and 2. Th e fi gure 2 presents the claw parameters of the right hind claws of Slovak spotted cows measured by both applied meth-ods. Coeffi  cients of variation were lower in all measures by ruler than in measures by image analysis, except the claw width. Th e non-signifi cant correlation between two types of measurements Figure 1. Claw measurements (Vermunt and Greenough, 1995); A- claw angle, B- claw length, C- heel depth, D- claw height, E- diagonal, F- claw width Parameter Fore feet lateral claw (n=34) Nuss et al.(2011) Hind feet, lateral claw (=20) Nuss and Paulus (2006) Hind feet, lateral claw (n=31) present study (image analysis) Hind feet, lateral claw (n=31) present study (ruler) Claw angle 53.1±4.6 51.4±2.3 54.91±6.22 47.81±3.17 Claw length 73.9±3.7 75.6±3.5 70.19±8.23 71.19±5.04 Heel depht 41.3±3.2 33.6±2.7 35.33±3.93 36.87±4.01 Total area of claw 42.9±4.7 44.2±5.4 42.92±5.09 – Claw lenght/heel depth 1.80:1 2.25:1 1.99:1 1.93:1 Table 1. Comparison of claw measures of fi rst parity cows (means and standard deviations)Agric. conspec. sci. Vol. 82 (2017) No. 2195Evaluation of Claw Conformation by Using Two Methods of Measuring-by Ruler and Image Analysiswas found only in claw angle (r=0.11). Th e signifi cant correla-tions (P<0.01) were found in other 5 claw parameters (Table 3). Th e highest one (r=0.74) was found in claw width and the lowest for claw length. Th e signifi cant diff erences in claw parameters between two methods of measurement were found only in claw angle and diagonal (Figure 2).DiscussionIn present study the smallest correlation was found in claw angle (r=0.11). Also Goodenough et al. (2012) found extreme variability in angular measurements. Th is can be a common issue where shape, rather than size, is measured on the biologi-cal specimens (Zelditch et al., 2004).Goodenough et al. (2012) reported that biometrics meas-ured from digital image on a computer tend to be less variable than measurement taken by hand. But it was not concluded in present study. One of the possible solutions could be to do each measurement three times and then take the average value for comparison of the mentioned methods for measuring.Within analysed animals the average claw length was at level 71.80 mm. For example, in Holstein cows Tsuka et al. (2014) found that dorsal wall length of 75 and 76.2 mm (typically Parameter Fore feet lateral claw (n=26) Nuss et al. (2011) Hind feet, lateral claw (=20) Nuss and Paulus (2006) Hind feet, lateral claw (n=89) present study (image analysis) Hind feet, lateral claw (n=89) present study (ruler) Claw angle 52.4±3.8 48.2±2.7 54.96±5.84 49.51±4.68 Claw length 74.8±5.1 78.0±5.5 72.36±6.46 71.46±5.03 Heel depht 42.7±3.9 34.1±4.7 40.68±5.57 38.76±5.25 Total area of claw 49.1±10.2 57.7±10 48.23±7.33 – Claw lenght/heel depth 1.77:1 2.28:1 1.78:1 1.84:1 Table 2. Comparison of claw measures of second and higher parity cows (means and standard deviations)Table 3. Phenotypic correlations between ruler and digital image analysis measurements of claw parameters						     """"  !Figure 2.Claw parameters of Slovak spotted cows measured by two methods; A- claw angle (°), B- claw length(mm), C- heel depth (mm), D- claw height (mm), E-diagonal (mm), F- claw width (mm), **P<0.01 A_r B_r C_r D_r E_r F_r A_dia 0.11253 -0.0299 0.07555 0.0475 -0.19946 0.13831 0.2211 0.7458 0.4122 0.6064 0.029 0.1319 B_dia -0.13781 0.35792 0.28349 0.3359 0.14948 0.02577 0.1334 <0.0001 0.0017 0.0002 0.1032 0.7799 C_dia 0.06526 0.08495 0.41585 0.32105 0.3931 0.22187 0.4788 0.3563 <0.0001 0.0003 <.0001 0.0149 D_dia -0.04341 0.29337 0.31551 0.59518 0.2517 0.14462 0.6378 0.0011 0.0004 <0.0001 0.0056 0.115 E_dia -0.01947 0.01744 0.20343 0.22423 0.56591 0.13887 0.8328 0.85 0.0259 0.0138 <0.0001 0.1304 F_dia 0.02243 0.0913 0.01268 0.18469 0.43668 0.73579 0.8078 0.3213 0.8907 0.0434 <.0001 <0.0001 Total area_dia -0.02064 0.03407 0.05492 0.15673 0.59739 0.50291 0.8237 0.713 0.553 0.0887 <.0001 <.0001 Functional area_dia -0.12151 0.15546 0.12131 0.19176 0.19395 0.30911 0.188 0.0914 0.1888 0.0367 0.0346 0.0006 A- claw angle, B- claw length, C- heel depth, D- claw height, E-diagonal, F- claw width, _r- measured by ruler, _dia- measured by digital image analysis Agric. conspec. sci. Vol. 82 (2017) No. 2196 Michal VLČEK, Ján TOMKA, Radovan KASARDArecommended for functional trimming) should not be applied to all claws. Th ey reported that the dorsal wall length of 73 mm as minimum for maintaining a sole thickness of >5 mm in the apex area. But dorsal wall length of 79 mm was needed to main-tain a sole thickness of 7 mm based on the protective function of the soles. On the other hand, Archer et al. (2015) found that in adult Holstein cows 90 mm and in younger cows 85 mm dorsal wall length is recommended as a minimum. Nuss et al. (2011) reported that dorsal wall length of 75 mm can be used as a guideline when trimming front and hind feet in Simmental cattle. From this point of view the sole thickness was across evaluated cows smaller than the recommendation of Nuss et al. (2011) mainly due to the fact that the Slovak Spotted cattle is genetically not pure Simmental breed. Moreover, the ob-servations of Nuss and Paulus (2006) and Nuss et al. (2011) have been performed post mortem. Th e comparison between those studies and obtained results are presented in table 1 and table 2. Somers et al. (2005) found that between the claw parame-ters of Holstein cows housed on other fl oors were no diff erenc-es, except for the claw angle. Cows in this study were housed on straw yard and no information about the housing in studies of Nuss and Paulus (2006) and Nuss et al. (2011) were available.Total claw areas of observed cows are shown in table 1 and table 2. Th e total claw area of Simmental bulls was analysed for example by Nuss and Paulus (2006), Nuss et al. (2011), and Radišić et al. (2012). Compared to our methodology Radišić et al. (2012) calculated the claw surface from claw diagonal and claw width. Our results of claw area in hind feet were similar to the results of Nuss and Paulus (2006). Several studies reported that the image analysis belongs to useful and accurate tools for measuring of animal body parameters (Flower et al., 2005; Tsuka et al., 2014; Outweltjes et al., 2016). Based on previous studies as well as our results it can be conclude that the digital image analysis is one of possible way how to analyse the claw parameters.ConclusionCorrect claw shape is necessary for good locomotion and animal welfare. Generally, image analysis belongs to useful and accurate tools for measuring of animal body parameters. In this study the diff erences and correlations between claw measure-ments obtained by ruler and image analysis were analysed. Th e lowest correlations were found in case of claw angle. Th e high-est diff erences were found in claw angle a diagonal. Th e mean claw length was lower than is optimal for similar breeds which means that the sole thickness can be not enough high for pro-tect function of claw. Th is indicated the need of claw shape cor-rection in following trimming. Moreover, the higher number of observations for one parameters (for example 3) is necessary to obtain more precise comparison between both applied methods. In the future, this technique could be use as objective and very eff ective tool to measure claw shape.ReferencesArcher S.C., Newsome R., Dibble H., Sturrock C.J., Chagunda M.G.G., Mason C.S., Huxley J.N. (2015). Claw length recom-mendations for dairy cow foot trimming. Vet Rec 177(9):222-227Flower F.C., Sanderson D.J., Weary D.M. (2005). Hoof pathologies infl uence kinematic measures of dairy cow gait. J Dairy Sci 88: 3166-3173Goodenough A.E., Smith A.L., Stubbs H., Williams R., Hart A. G. (2012). Observer variability in measuring animal biometrics and fl uctuating asymmetry when using digital analysis of photo-graphs. Ann Zool Fennici 49: 89-92Nuss K., Paulus N. (2006). Measurements of claw dimensions in cows before and aft er functional trimming: A post-mortem study. Vet J 172:284-292Nuss K., Sauter-Louis C., Sigmund B. (2011). Measurements of fore-limb claw dimensions in cows using a standardised sole thick-ness: A post-mortem study. Vet J 190:84-89Ouweltjes W., Gussekloo S.W.S., Spoor C.W., van Leeuwen J.L. (2016). A new technique using roentgen stereophotogrammetry to measure changes in the spatial conformation of bovine hind claws in response to external loads. Vet J 208: 81-86Radišić B., Matičić D., Vnuk D., Lipar M., Majić Balić I., Đitko B., Smolec O., Orak A., Capak H., Kos J. (2012). Measurements of healthy and pathologically altered hooves, ther interrelation and correlation with body mass in Simmental breeding bull. Vet arhiv 82: 531-544Somers J.G.C.J., Schouten W.G.P., Frankena K., Noordhuizen-Stassen E.N., Metz J.H.M. (2005). Development of claw traits and claw lesions in dairy cows kept on diff erent fl oor systems. J Dairy Sci 88:110-120Tsuka T., Murahata Y., Azuma K., Osaki T., Ito N., Okamoto Y., Imagawa T. (2014). Quantitative evaluation of the relationship between dorsal wall length, sole thickness, and rotation of the distal phalanx in the bovine claw using computer tomography. J Dairy Sci 97:6271-6285Vermunt J.J., Greenough P.R. (1995). Structural characteristics of the bovine claw: Horn growth and wear, horn hardness and claw conformation. Br Vet J 151: 157-180Zelditch M.L., Swiderski D.L., Sheets H.D., Fink W.L. (2004). Geometric morphometrics for biologists: a primer. Elsevier Academic Press, Oxford.acs82_37

Evaluation of Claw Conformation by Using Two Methods of Measuring-by Ruler and Image Analysis

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