Over the past few years, much attention has been placed on proper colostrum management and feeding protocols. Ensuring adequate volume and timeliness of colostrum feedings has been a focus on dairies to aid in their calf rearing programs. Now that these protocols have become the standard, many are seeking uses for leftover, lower quality colostrum that doesn’t make the cut for the calf at the first initial feeding. Veterinarians Taylor Strickland and Emmanuel Rollin from the University of Georgia Dairy Team gave insight into other ways colostrum can be used after the first feeding in a recent extension article.
The most common cause of sickness and death in dairy calves stems from scours. This can be detrimental to the calf throughout its entire life as it becomes more susceptible to contracting respiratory diseases and reduced fertility and milk production. Generally, calves are treated for scours with antimicrobials early on in life, which could potentially result in an antimicrobial resistance further down the road.
Because of the cost of antimicrobial treatment, there has been a growing interest in finding alternative routes to treat scours. One way is by feeding leftover colostrum after day one, even if the calf does not show signs of scours. “This practice describes using bovine colostrum as a nutraceutical, a nutritional supplement that improves health outcomes, to reduce the incidence of diarrhea in preweaned calves under high disease pressure,” Strickland and Rollin said. By utilizing this practice, colostrum can help protect calves from developing illness.
While an initial colostrum feeding within the first two hours of life is critical, the dam often produces an excess amount that does not get utilized. Instead of letting this excess go to waste, lower quality colostrum can still have many health benefits for the calf. The veterinarians noted, “Lower quality colostrum with a brix score less than 22% is not fit for the first feeding, but the composition is still adequate for use as an alternative therapy in older calves experiencing diarrhea or as a protective strategy for those calves at high disease risk.”
Colostrum is richer in dietary fat, contains higher levels of vitamins A, E, and B12, and has double the solids of whole milk. In fact, the bioactive compounds found in colostrum also have antimicrobial properties such as lactoferrin, lactoperoxidase, and lysozymes. “These bioactives inhibit microbial growth, reduce binding capacity of pathogens, and facilitate the immune cell’s abilities to destroy intruding bacteria,” they said.
As farmers are looking for ways to cut down on costs, the use of colostrum as an alternative route for scour treatment and prevention may be a reliable option. Plus, it also helps reduce wasting clean colostrum that cannot be used!
