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The importance of colostrumBy Michael Fisher CSU Golden Plains Area Livestock Extension Agent This morning I had a conversation with a colleague about the euphoric feeling that calving and lambing season can offer to the rancher. There really are not that many things that can match the feeling that one gets when he/she sees a group of strong, playful, and healthy newborn farm critters. That can be calves, lambs, puppies, foals, or whatever. Note that I used healthy as one of the criteria to reach that euphoric feeling. A pasture full of sick critters can be pretty disheartening. One of the things that helps make our fresh crop of livestock healthy is colostrum. This is the first milk provided by the mother, assuming that it is provided within 4 to 12 hours of birth. Often times it will have a yellow or orange tint to it. Let's focus the remainder of this discussion on cattle. When a calf is born, it really does not have a prepared immune system. At this point, the calf is extremely susceptible to infectious diseases. However, the colostrum milk contains the dam's serum antibodies, also known as immunoglobulins (IgG), which can kick start the immune system in the calf. Within hours of consuming the proper amount of colostrum the calf will have a supply of protective antibodies in its bloodstream that will work to fend off disease. On average and depending on the dam, a 75 pound, newborn calf needs to get about 2 to 3 quarts of colostrum to create a protective immune level. As mentioned above, this needs to be in the first 4 to 12 hours following birth. While it can take up to a month for enough antibodies to be stored in the udder to form the colostrum, it will quickly begin to deteriorate after calving. Not all colostrum is created equal. Cows tend to produce colostrum with higher concentrations of IgG than do heifers. This provides a greater amount of protection to the calf of a multiparous (has had multiple offspring) dam than what the offspring of a first-calf heifer will receive. Additionally, beef cattle tend to provide a higher concentration level of IgG in their colostrum than do dairy cattle. Body condition score at calving also plays a dramatic role in the quality of the colostrum. Research out of Nebraska has shown that the concentration of IgG drops significantly with each incremental score below a BCS 5. There are occasionally times when the dam is unable to provide enough, if any, colostrum. Perhaps she did not come into lactation, she fought the calf for too long, the calf does not have the intellect to nurse, the dam did not survive the birth process, etc. There are several colostrum supplements on the market. However, remember that these are supplements, not replacements. They are supposed to be used in addition to colostrum that has been supplied. The better solution is to get colostrum from another cow. You can store the colostrum frozen in quart containers. You should not store it in large containers because once you thaw it you need to use it. Also, you need to be wary of what kind of freezer you store the colostrum in. Many freezers on the market today have an automatic defrosting feature. This feature, over a long period, has been shown to destroy a percentage of the antibodies in the colostrum. Thawing colostrum is almost an art. In our fast-paced world, many of us want to boil or microwave the frozen colostrum and be able to use it in a few minutes. However, these methods have both been shown to destroy the antibodies, making the milk's immune function ineffective. Some research has shown limited success with defrosting the colostrum in a microwave if it is at less than 60 percent power. But this requires that you have a microwave that you can adjust the power setting on and it will still take 40 to 60 minutes to defrost a quart of colostrum at this power level. The recommended technique is to put the quart container of frozen colostrum into a water bath that is 110 degrees F. You will want to stir it about every 5 minutes to assure uniform thawing and an even temperature of 104 degrees F throughout the colostrum. This process will also take 40 to 60 minutes. If you wish to discuss this subject further, Michael Fisher can be reached through the Yuma County Extension office at 970-332-4151 or by e-mail at mj.fisher@colostate.edu. 4/14/08 Date: 4/4/08
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