Page 9 - MWC 2-24-2022s

THE IMPORTANCE OF COLOSTRUM The Midwest Cattleman · February 24, 2022 · P9

Don’t idle, be prepared for calving season with colostrum.
By Mark Z. Johnson, Oklahoma State University Extension

Being ready and prepared the large protein molecules newborn calf, the
before the start of calving that make up the various “best practice” is
season can make life much immunoglobulins. Fresh co- to thaw in a warm
easier for cow-calf producers lostrum can be stored in one- water bath at 122
and potentially save a calf. quart doses by putting that degrees Fahren-
By the time calving season much in a gallon-size Zip- heit for one hour.
starts, you need everything loc bag. Lay the bags flat to Avoid thawing at
on hand that might be neces- freeze in the freezer. When room temperature
sary and all equipment and the time comes to thaw the
facilities in working order. colostrum and feed it to the continued on page 12
Operators need several doses
of colostrum or colostrum re-
placer on inventory before
the start of spring-calving
season.
Adequate colostrum in-
take is extremely crucial
for newborn calves in order
to gain passive immunity.
Calves born after a prolonged
delivery through the pelvic
canal can suffer from severe
respiratory acidosis. Such
calves are less efficient at
absorbing colostral immuno-
globulins or antibodies even
if artificially fed colostrum.
The only disease protection
baby calves will receive is
from the passive transfer of
antibodies from the colos-
trum they ingest. Colostrum
also contains transferrin and
lactoferrin, which bind iron
and restrict bacterial growth.
These factors, together with
immunoglobulins, help limit
growth of bacteria in the gut.
Colostrum or colostrum
replacer will need to be ad-
ministered by bottle suck-
ling or tube feeding within
a few hours of birth for max-
imal absorption of immu-
noglobulins. The general
rule of thumb is the sooner
colostrum is ingested the
better and calves will typi-
cally stand, walk, and nurse
within one hour after birth.
Bottomline: if there is any
question of whether a calf
has received adequate colos-
trum, then colostrum should
be administered immediate-
ly to the newborn. Calves
that miss getting timely co-
lostrum ingestion are much
more likely to suffer from
calf scours, which can have
lifelong effects on general
hardiness and disease resis-
tance.
Previously obtained co-
lostrum must be kept frozen
to protect the integrity of