Footbath management practices and perceptions in Canadian dairy herds from a national survey of dairy producers

The aim of the survey was to gather information about footbath management practices, to evaluate dairy producers' perception on their footbath use, and to collect data about the intent to install footbaths in Canadian dairy herds. The online survey comprised of 12 questions for those who intend to install footbaths within the next 5 yr ("intention survey") and 31 questions for those who currently have footbaths ("footbath survey"). A total of 246 Canadian dairy producers from 8 provinces filled out the survey: 29 responded to the "intention survey" and 217 producers responded to the "footbath survey." Based on the responses from the "intention survey," the adoption of footbath management in Canada within the next 5 yr might increase by at least 6.5% (16 out of 246 responses), mainly due to new construction (46.7%, 7 out of 15 complete responses), especially in Eastern provinces historically known to rear dairy cows in tie-stall barns. Copper sulfate still seems the most appealing product to use in future footbaths. Based on the "footbath survey," the use of footbaths to prevent digital dermatitis in Canada is a relatively recent management tool as about 46% of the respondents selected that they had been using this management for less than 10 yr. The number of animal passages before discarding the footbath solution was variable between the respondents, with about 68% of them disposing the solution after between 50 and 200 passages. The most popular response for how long the solution was kept before throwing it away was <5 h with 32.0% of respondents, followed by more than 24 h with 26.9% of respondents. Most lactating cows (55.6%) went through the footbath either one or 2 times per week, with a smaller proportion (15.7%) doing so 3 times per week. In contrast, the majority of dry cows and heifers never went through the footbath (69.2% and 81.8%, respectively). The most common footbath product was copper sulfate (53.8%), followed by formaldehyde (12.2%) and a combination of copper sulfate and formaldehyde (11.7%). The number of times per week lactating cows passed through the footbath and the number of animal passages before discarding the solution increased with herd size. Forty-six percent of respondents reported that personal protective equipment was used during the solution making; the most common equipment being gloves. Regarding human health and the environment, 32.0% and 23.2% of producers, respectively, believed that footbath product(s) could be harmful. Most dairy producers (91.8%) believed that footbaths were effective in preventing foot lesions. About 51%, 25%, and 32% of respondents selected that they were very confident about the footbath usage on their farm, the recommendation regarding the number of cow passages before discarding the footbath solution, and the recommendation regarding the weekly frequency of the footbath use, respectively. The results from this survey indicated that footbath management in Canadian dairy herds was variable.