Calf Colostrum Management

Question 1

do calves have other opportunities besides ingesting colostrum to gain any immunity early in life?

Answer 1

not really! the bovine placenta does not allow for any transfer of protective antibodies

Question 2

what is the best vaccine a calf can get?

Answer 2

colostrum! lol

Question 3

what is colostrum made up of mostly?

Answer 3

antibiodies (imuunoglobulin G), immune cells, fat, vitamins, minerals, antimicrobial peptides

Question 4

the transfer of passive immunity depends on what 3 things?

Answer 4

how much colostrum is available: immunization of the cow and nutrition of the cow

how much the calf actually got

How much the calf actually absorbed

Question 5

when does a cow start making colostrum?

how long after getting a vaccine does it take to generate antibodies?

so when do we want to vaccinate cows to get antibodies into colostrum?

Answer 5

3 weeks before calving

takes 2 weeks to make antibodies

5-6 weeks before calving

Question 6

what 4 things are included in a scours vaccination

Answer 6

coronavirus, rotavirus, E coli, C. perfringens

Question 7

is giving a scours vaccine to a late pregnant cow a guarantee for healthy calves?

Answer 7

no! a vaccine is only as good as the colostrum management! the entire purpose of vaccinating the cow is to protect the calf, not the cow (except mastitis)

Question 8

what are the 3 determinants of how much colostrum a calf actually gets (colostrum volume)?

Answer 8

the IgG concentration–>how many antibodies are in there?

how old is the calf?

how efficient is absorption?

Question 9

what are the 5 Qs of colostrum?

Answer 9

quality, quickness, quantity, sQueaky clean, Quantify

Question 10

how does beef and dairy colostrum differ in regards to yield and average IgG concentrations

Answer 10

dairy cows produce more, but have lower IgG concentrations

beef cows produce less, but have higher IgG concentrations

Question 11

for determining IgG concentration, what tests can be done?

Answer 11

Reference test=radial immunodiffusion (RID) but this test is very $$$ and takes a long time

brix refractometer: a few hundred dollars and useful on farm
colostrometer: get a measure of specific gravity, has to be at room temp

Question 12

for DAIRY, what do we want our IgG colostrum numbers to be?

Answer 12

we want at least 50g/L of IgG

brix refractometer: 23%
colostrometer: 80mg/ml

Question 13

for BEEF, what do we want our IgG colosotrum numbers to be?

Answer 13

we want between 100 and 150 g/L

Brix between 24 and 30%

Question 14

commercial colostrum products should have _____ of IgG per package

Answer 14

> 100g

Question 15

why is age of the calf important for colostrum management?

Answer 15

the gut only absorbs colostrum for the first 24 hours and drastically reduces after 4-6 hours

quality of colostrum can also decrease with time to suckle/collection

Question 16

what are some factors that affect how efficiently the calf is able to absorb colostrum?

Answer 16

timting
contamination (manure)
dystocia or prolonged calving
cold stress (poor blood flow)
route of administration
body weight

Question 17

how much colostrum does the typical calf absorb?

Answer 17

20-30% of what theyre fed

Question 18

in dairy calves, colostrum should be fed ______

Answer 18

as soon as possible after birth

Question 19

what are the 2 ways we can know when to intervene with colostrum for BEEF calves?

Answer 19

calving ease and suckle reflex! these two things will predict if they can handle things on their own or if they need help

for example, the more difficult the calving, the higher the risk they fail to consume colostrum on their own

similarly, a weak suckle reflex means they have a higher chance of failing to consume colostrum on their own

Question 20

list some factors that reduce vigour (strength and good heath) and therefore affect colostrum consumption

Answer 20

mismothering
cross fostering
twinning
dystocia
body weight
calf sex: males are slower
weather

Question 21

what is our goal for the colostrum quantity/mass for IgGs?

Answer 21

200-400g, even up to 500g!

Question 22

why do we assume worse case scenario for colostrum quality?

Answer 22

now is not the time for taking risks! there is so much variability in colostrum quality so we just play it safe

Question 23

how many liters of colostrum does a dairy vs beef cow need?

Answer 23

dairy: 5-10 L
beef: 3-5 L

Question 24

dairy calves should get _____ colostrum within _____, followed by ______

Answer 24

more than 4L within 4 hours of birth

another 2 L within 12 hours of birth

Question 25

true or false: there is very little in the literature to guide colostrum management recommendations for beef calves

Answer 25

true! there needs to be a balance between getting enough IgG into the calf, but not interfering with subsequent nursing behavior

Question 26

what are the guidelines for feeding colostrum to beef calves?

Answer 26

feeding 1.4L of 70g/L IgG colostrum product resulted in calves nursing sooner, done with a tube.

using a nipple bottle is preferred but not all calves finish their bottles!if a calf refuses to finish their bottle, this indicates they weren’t going to suckle as soon

Question 27

what are the pros of bottle feeding vs tube feeding colostrum? which is preferred in dairy calves?

Answer 27

bottle feeding: encourages closure of the esophageal groove so colostrum goes into the abomasum

tube feeding: faster and ensures consumption by calves that wont suck a bottle

in dairy: when giving large amounts, they are equal, but when giving small amounts bottle feeding is better

Question 28

why do you want to avoid contamination of colostrum?

Answer 28

bacterial contamination causes disease and reduces absorption of antibodies

Question 29

true or false: if you’re not going to use colostrum right away, you should put it in the fridge

Answer 29

false, you should put it in the freezer! in the fridge after 2 hours there is too much bacterial growth so if you arent gonna use it just freeze it

Question 30

how do you “quantify” colostrum?

Answer 30

send it to za labbbbbb

Question 31

for beef calves, failed transfer of passive immunity is defined as ____. what about inadequate transfer of passive immunity?

Answer 31

failure=having IgGs less than 10g/L
inadequate=having IgGs less than 24 g/L

Question 32

how do you assess TPI status of calves on a farm?

Answer 32

use the radial immunodiffusion test (reference test)

can also estimate IgG concentrations usnig brix refractometer or serum total protein using a refractometer as well

Question 33

what are 4 main impacts of failed TPI?

Answer 33

death/mortality
bovine respiratory disease
diarrhea
overall morbidity

Question 34

can you feed dairy colostrum to a beef cow?

Answer 34

NO! beef colostrum has way higher IgGs compared to dairy and so dairy is NOT a good substitute for beef

Question 35

what is biocontainment?

Answer 35

focusing on reducing spread of disease causing agents WITHIN a herd or operation

Question 36

why do we want beef calves to all be born early in the calving season?

Answer 36

it limits exposure to amplified pathogen numbers and there is less time for things to get dirty. BUT it has to be done well!

pros: uniformity of calves, minimizing exhaustion of environment, decreasing exposure to pathogens

Question 37

why are calves from heifers at highest risk?

Answer 37

because heifers are more likely to have low quantities of colostrum, have an assisted calving, and have problems with mismothering.

for this reason we want to calve heifers first to expose calves to less and have them get more attention

Question 38

what are the 3 possible “systems” for pasture management?

Answer 38

sandhill system, foothills system, or calve later and on large pastures

Question 39

briefly describe the sandhills system

Answer 39

start with all pregnant cows in one large pasture. then after 2-3 weeks, the cows that still havent calved get moved to pasture 2. another 2-3 weeks go by and remaining cows yet to calve go to pasture 3, and so on. After 4-6 weeks you can combine pairs from the first few pastures

Question 40

briefly describe the foothills calving system

Answer 40

start with a large pasture for all pregnant cows. After calving, move cow calf pairs to nursery pen 1. After 1-3 weeks, shut pen 1 and start putting pairs in pen 2 and so on. The goal is calving on clean pasture and keeping the age of calves as close as possible. Can help with scours outbreaks

Question 41

if you feed cows on the ground, what should you be doing?

Answer 41

move the site each day to prevent cows congregating in one place every single day!

Question 42

why do you need bedding in multiple locations throughout the pasture/pen?

Answer 42

to spread out where the cows are laying down. if there’s only one spot with bedding, theyre all going to hang out there

Question 43

what are the 3 parts of biocontainment?

Answer 43

space, time, protocols

Question 44

for dairy cows, how much space does each calf need? what is the knee test?

Answer 44

32 sqft per calf

knee test is a way to test for good drainage and dry bedding–>get down on to your knees and they shouldn’t get soaked in 10 seconds

Question 45

how do you prevent disease spread from older calves to younger calves?

Answer 45

have an age range of <7 days in group housed calves

house less than 8 calves together per pen (group housing)

Question 46

options for well draining base for calf bedding?

Answer 46

gravel or sawdust

Question 47

describe a nesting score of 1,2 and 3

Answer 47

1: bedding does not cover any part of the calf’s foot or leg when lying down
2: bedding covers part od the lower leg and part of upper leg remaining visible when lying down
3: calf legs are not visible when lying down