Colostrum is the first milk and is crucial to both short- and long-term health in all mammals. A sufficient quantity of good quality colostrum, delivered quickly to newborns can prevent diseases such as watery mouth or joint ill in lambs, reduce the incidence of scour (diarrhoea) and pneumonia in calves, and improve overall survival rates and growth rates in all species. By reducing the incidence of disease, we can also reduce the use of antibiotics on farms. Which in turn is key as we aim to reduce antibiotic resistance in both animals and humans.
Table of contents
Colostrum differs from whole milk in both composition and function
It really is the ultimate superfood for the newborn as it contains:
- Fat: providing vital energy needed to keep up with mum, find food and stay warm.
- Protein: essential for normal development.
- Vitamins and minerals: some of which are poorly transferred across the placenta before birth.
- Immunoglobulins (also known as antibodies): proteins produced by the mother’s immune system to defend against infection and disease. Newborn mammals have no immune system of their own at birth so rely entirely on colostrum to supply this early defense.
- Biologically active factors: including hormones, growth factors and natural antimicrobial compounds (acting against microbes i.e. bacteria and viruses). Biologically active factors promote normal gut development, allow energy to be absorbed from food and begin the development of the newborn’s own immune system.
In short, colostrum is vital to good health and development, #ColostrumIsGold
The 3 Q’s of colostrum
The three Q’s of colostrum are fundamental to making the most of nature’s liquid gold: Quality, Quantity, and Quickly. Let’s look at these in reverse order.
Quickly
The sooner the better really! Healthy newborns born without difficulty will likely be on their feet and suckling vigorously within the first hour of life. As one hour becomes two, quality decreases along with the ability of the newborn to absorb its benefits, particularly antibodies. In all species, getting the first colostrum feed within 2 hours of birth will optimise immunity both short and long-term. For example where there has been dystocia (difficulty giving birth) or if a newborn is weak or slow to rise, access to colostrum may be delayed unless the livestock keeper intervenes promptly. By 6 hours after birth the newborn’s ability to absorb antibodies has reduced markedly and by 20 hours after birth, the uptake of antibodies is minimal.
Quantity
The quantity of colostrum required to achieve adequate transfer of immunity to the newborn will depend on the quality of that colostrum. Given good quality colostrum, the following guidelines should be applied.
Lambs and goat kids – 50ml per kg bodyweight in the first 2 hours and a total of 200ml per kg bodyweight in the first 24 hours. For example, a 4kg lamb requires 200ml within 2hrs and a further 3 or 4 feeds of the same size within 24hours
Calves – 3-4 litres in the first 2 hours followed by another 3-4 litres within 12 hours of birth. This volume may be reduced slightly in small breeds such as Jersey calves.
Piglets – intakes of at least 150-200ml per kg of bodyweight in the first 16 hours has been shown to dramatically improve the survival rate of piglets up to the point of weaning.
Crias – 10-20% of bodyweight within 24 hours. For example, a 7kg cria would require 700-1400ml in total over the first 24 hours, fed little and often, with the first feed being within 2 hours.
Newborns that appear to suckle well, have a full tummy and appear content are assumed to have taken enough colostrum but if there is any doubt at all a top up should be given by milking the mother and feeding the remaining colostrum by bottle or via a stomach tube.
Quality
It is impossible to determine the true quality and immunoglobulin (IgG or antibody) content of colostrum just by looking. Below are two easy to use, inexpensive options used on farm to measure colostrum quality.
- The Brix refractometer gives a percentage value when a drop of colostrum is placed onto the refractometer surface as shown here. For cows and goats, a value of 22% or greater would be considered sufficient while for sheep and pigs a value of 25% or above is recommended.
- Alternatively, a colostrometer can be used, by placing it into a sample of colostrum and taking a red, amber or green zone reading as demonstrated here.
Either of these devices may be used if poor quality colostrum is suspected (e.g. in older or lean animals), if the colostrum is to be stored (see later), or if there is a high incidence of neonatal disease. For livestock keepers with very small numbers of animals it may be well worth measuring colostrum quality as a routine with each animal as they give birth.
If colostrum quality or quantity is low, what do I supplement with?
If quality is known or suspected to be low, or quantity insufficient (e.g. when a large litter is born), additional colostrum will be required.
Donated colostrum – same species
Colostrum donated from another female of the same species, on the same farm would be ideal as it will contain antibodies to farm specific diseases and those against which the flock/herd is vaccinated. Colostrum should be collected only from a healthy donor who has an excess of confirmed high-quality colostrum after her own offspring are provided for, for example a ewe with a single lamb.
Fresh donated colostrum is not always available at the required moment, so it can be a good idea to harvest and store colostrum ahead of time. It must first be tested for quality and then collected and stored hygienically, as any contamination with bacteria will significantly reduce antibody absorption in the newborn. Stored colostrum should be labelled with the donor and date of collection and can be refrigerated for 24 hours or frozen for up to one year. When needed, frozen colostrum must be defrosted and warmed gently to avoid damaging its valuable contents. Colostrum should never be defrosted or heated in the microwave – ADHB has a good guide here. This is based on cattle colostrum, but the principles are applicable to any species.
Donated cow colostrum
If colostrum is not available from the same species on the same holding, fresh or frozen cows’ colostrum may be used to supplement other species using slightly larger than normal volumes to supply sufficient antibodies. In lambs particularly, there is a risk of anaemia caused by a breakdown of red blood cells in response to the “foreign” proteins in the colostrum of some cows. This risk is reduced if colostrum can be pooled (i.e. collected from several cows and mixed together). If the cows are from the same holding as the recipient of the colostrum, protection will likely be afforded against diseases specific to that holding. If cow colostrum is sourced from another herd, this should be a Johnes free herd, and ideally vaccinated against clostridial diseases.
Powdered colostrum
As a last resort powdered colostrum is available, usually marketed for lambs or calves but useful for other species too. These powders should be considered as a supplement rather than a replacement for colostrum, as they don’t contain as much antibody as natural colostrum. If no natural colostrum is available, or if you want to have some powder on the shelf in case of emergency, speak to your vet. Ingredients are listed in order of inclusion so the further up the list “colostrum powder” is, the better.
Planning for success
Due to the importance of colostrum and the requirement for timely delivery of it, preparation is key to success.
- Optimise natural colostrum production and reduce the risk of complications such as dystocia by having animals in the correct body condition and good health throughout the year. Consider drawing up a health plan with your vet to ensure good nutrition is provided and an appropriate vaccination programme is in place, as well as timely monitoring of body condition scores and worm egg counts.
- Maintain a clean environment for delivery of newborns to reduce the risk of bacteria getting into the newborn gut before colostrum does.
- Be aware of risk factors such as dystocia (difficulty giving birth), unwell or older mothers, weak offspring, large litters or mastitis, any of which may increase the risk of insufficient transfer of immunity via colostrum.
- Speak to your vet about having a protocol in place for assessing colostrum quality using a Brix refractometer or colostrometer.
- Have a plan for when supplementation is required. This may be as simple as assisting a newborn to suckle or may require more intervention such as harvesting colostrum and delivering it by stomach tube. Many vet practices now run skills courses or will be happy to demonstrate such techniques and when to use them, and equipment is readily available to help with this process such as a hand pump kit used to harvest colostrum quickly, efficiently and hygienically.
- Don’t be afraid to call for advice or assistance. The window for getting adequate colostrum is short and once it has passed, catch up is never really possible. So, call your vet for advice if you are unsure at all – we would much rather be advising on prevention than chasing a cure!
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