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FEEDING COLOSTRUM IN NEW BORN CALVES
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Normally calves are allowed to suck colostrum or milk from the mothers udder for a few moments to induce letdown of milk and later they are separated from the mother, to facilitate the milk man to physically milk the cow. At the end of the milking again the calf is allowed to suck the residual milk from the udder, which may not be sufficient to the calf.
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But in organized farms, calves are separated and fed with measured quantities of milk in buckets or pails.
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The calves are trained to drink milk with its mouth turned upwards so that the ingested milk flows directly into omasum and abomasums through esophageal groove.
Colostrum
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It should be given fresh as milked from the mother within two hours and minimum for the first three days after birth.
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It provides antibodies which are absorbed intact in the first few days of the calf’s life.
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It should not be warmed since it will coagulate, due to the presence of higher quantity of protein (17%) as against 3.5% in normal milk.
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It contains immunoglobulins (IgM, IgG, IgA) which are essential for new born calves and can pass through the intestinal membranes freely during the first 12 hours of its life.
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The immunoglobulins are absorbed in the body by the process of pinocytosis.
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It also contains anti-tryptic enzyme which may help in the protection of whey protein from the proteolysis.
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It is also rich in Vitamins (A,D and E) and minerals (Ca, Mg, Fe and P).
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It also has a laxative effect in removing muconium. The colostrum should be fed at the rate of one tenth of body weight of the calves.
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If dam’s colostrum is not available, two eggs may be mixed with milk along with 30 ml castor oil and it can be given to the calves.
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In addition, it is necessary to inject the calf with dam’s serum for augmenting the antibody titer in the body, particularly the buffalo calves.
Artificial colostrum
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Components
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Quantity
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Warm water
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275 ml
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Raw egg
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1
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Castor oil
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3 ML
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Vitamin A
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10,000 IU
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Warm whole milk
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525 ML
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Aureomycin
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80mg
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Mix well and feed at 400C,which is sufficient for one meal,
The calf should be fed three times a day.
Whole milk is given from the fourth day onwards till it attains three months of age.
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From the 15th day of its age a small quantity of good hay, preferably a legume hay, and a little calf starter may be offered.
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Early introduction of solid feed helps in the rapid development of rumen.
Practical consideration in feeding colostrum to new born calves:
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The nourishment of the calf should be taken care of much before it is born. That is why extra nutrients should be provided during the last two months of gestation. The expectant dam should also be provided with 15 to 20 kg of green fodder daily so that the colostrum secreted will be rich in vitamin A. Vitamin A content of colostrum is normally dependent on the type of ration given to the cow prior to parturition. If green fodder was not offered, the calf should be given at least 10,000 IU of vitamin A in its first feed within a few hours after its birth.
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For the next 7 days, the dosage may be reduced to 5000 IU per day. Carotene cannot replace vitamin A in feeding infant calves, as they are unable to convert carotene into vitamin A.
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Thereafter, the dosage may be 1000-2000 IU daily, in case the cow is not receiving any green fodder. If the cow is fed liberally with green fodder, vitamin A supplementation can be stopped.
Practical Calf-Feeding Programme
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The most critical period is the first 2-3 wk of life, during which time the calf’s digestive system is immature but developing rapidly with regard to digestive secretions and enzymatic activity.
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With respect to the nutrient requirements of the calf, three phases of development related to digestive function are recognized.
Liquid-feeding phase
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All or essentially all the nutrient requirements are met by milk or milk replacer. The quality of these feeds is preserved by a functional esophageal groove, which shunts liquid feeds directly to the abomasum and so avoids microbial break down in the reticulo-rumen. This is the non-ruminant phase from birth to 21 days of age and abomasum will be occupying 60 % total stomach and rumen is underdeveloped and non-functional.
Transition phase
Ruminant phase
Under the village conditions, the calf sucks milk from its mother's udder as long as the latter is in milk. Usually the calf is allowed to suck for a few seconds only to induce letdown of milk, and later a little quantity of milk is left in the udder after milking.
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The allowance of milk to the calf is mostly insufficient and the calves fail to grow at a proper rate whereas in all well-organized farms, calves are separated from their mother soon after parturition (weaned) and then hand fed with measured quantities of milk in a bucket or pail.
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The calf can be trained to drink colostrum and later milk from a pail with due care.
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It must be remembered that calf's natural instinct is to suck milk from its mother with its mouth turned upwards so that the ingested milk flows directly into omasum and abomasum through the esophageal groove.
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In the liquid feeding phase, the calves are fed fluid milk or milk replacer. Immediately after birth calves are fed colostrum.
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Importance of feeding colostrum:
Definition
Colostrum is the thick, creamy, yellow secretion of the first milking collected from the udder after calving. Secretions from the second to the eighth milking (fifth day of lactation) are called transitional milk because the composition gradually becomes similar to that of whole milk .
The feeding of colostrum is important for the following reasons
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High antibody content
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The immunoglobulins protect the calf from infections since the newborn calf has little or no reserve of antibodies (antibodies cannot pass through the placental membranes). The protein content of colostrum is 17% as against only 3.5% in ordinary milk.
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A major portion of the protein in colostrum is the immunoglobulin. The immunoglobulins found in colostrum are large proteins which when absorbed from the intestines protect the calves against diseases.
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Three types of immunoglobulins (IgM, IgG, IgA) are found in colostrum. IgG and IgM destroy antigens or micro-organisms that have entered the blood (systemic infections). IgA, a third type of antibody, protects the membranes that line many organs against infection, especially the intestine, and prevents antigens from entering the bloodstream.
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The concentration of antibodies in colostrum averages 6% (6 g/100 g of colostrum), but ranges from 2 to 23%. In contrast, the concentration of antibodies in the milk is only 0.1%.
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Source of nutrients: In addition to disease protection, colostrum is a rich source of nutrients for survi val of the calf because the body reserves of the calf gets exhausted with in hours with out any feed.
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Source of hormones and growth factors: Increasing evidence shows that colostrum also provides a number of hormones and growth factors necessary to stimulate growth and development of the digestive tract and other organ systems in the calf.
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The high content of vitamins (A, D and E) and minerals (Ca, Mg, Fe, and P) help the calf to resist infections. Vit.A in colostrum is very important because the calf is born with very small reserves of this vitamin
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The laxative action of the colostrum helps the calf in evacuating the accumulated faecal matter from its intestines. The faecal matter if not excreted may undergo fermentation and release toxins, causing ill health or even death
The three important considerations in Colostrum Feeding
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Feed colostrum within one hour after birth
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Colostrum is fed to calves as soon after birth as possible i.e. ideally within 30 minutes and certainly within 4 hours after birth. Approximately 35 percent of ingested immunoglobulins can be absorbed when calves are fed colostrum immediately after birth.
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The intestinal wall permits the passage of immunoglobulins at least during the first 12 hours after birth of calf.
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After that the gut closes and the rate of absorption of immunoglobulins may decline to less than 5.
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Feed colostrum at a rate of 12 percent to 15 percent of the calf’s body weight. The concentration of immunoglobulin G (IgG) needed in the blood to protect the calf from infectious diseases is 10 mg/ml of serum.
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Use high-quality colostrum percent.
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Visual observation gives a good indication of colostrum quality (amounts of antibodies). A thick, creamy colostrum is rich in antibodies. In contrast, a thin, watery colostrum is likely to contain a lower antibody concentration. Concentration of antibodies in colostrum is influenced by numerous factors:
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Inadequate length of the dry period (less than four weeks), premature calving, milking before calving and milk leakage before calving lower the concentration of antibodies in colostrum
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The age of the cow: On the average, concentration of antibodies is higher in older cows (>8%) than first-calf heifers (5-6%). In addition, older cows produce colostrum with more diverse antibody populations than younger cows because they have had more time to build immunity to the diseases existing in the herd
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The breed of dairy cow: Holsteins have a lower antibody concentration (6%) in their colostrum than other dairy breeds such as Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, Guernsey and Jersey (8 to 9 %)
What to do if colostrum is in excess
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Any surplus colostrum can be frozen and then thawed and carefully warmed to 39°C in warm water bath (45-50°C) before feeding. If no freezing facilities are, available colostrum can stay fresh for a couple of days if it is cooled in a hygienic container.
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Colostrum can be fermented with living lactic acid culture.
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Fermented colostrum can be kept for at least a week and up to two weeks if cooling facilities are available.
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Add propionic acid to colostrum and preserve it .
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