Colostrum

What is colostrum

• the first milk produced post partum

why is colostrum thick and yellow?

• high fat and sugar content

what is colostrum very high in content of?

• immunoglobins IgG, IgM and IgA

• PMN and neutrophils

compare how IgG can be transferred to:

1. rabbits and monkeys

2. dogs, cats, rodents

3. farm animals

1. all across placenta

2. both in utero and via colostrum

3. ALL is via colostrum

how does colostrum help the gut?

• introduces 'microbes which will help create the microbiota

• stimulates the immature digestive system

• helps the villi develop

how does colostrum help with nutrition?

• high fat

• protein

• minerals

• growth factor components

how can colostrum help in winter?

• it’s body temperature, or should be 38 degrees

• this can help warmup infants

what does IgG do?

• confers passive immunity, absorbed across GIT to provide systemic protection

what can IgG only do?

• cross the placenta

what does IgA do?

• mucosal protection, preventing pathogens attaching + colonising + penetrating epithalial surfaces

what is IgM?

• interacts with pathogens and causes agglutination of bacteria when it bbinds to surface epitope

why can only IgG cross the placenta?

• because of its size - it’s only 1 antibody, IgA is two and IgM is 5

how are antibodies absorbed in the intestine

• via pinocytosis

where are antibodies transfered to by enterocytes?

• the lymphoreticular system

once absorbed into the blood:

1. where does IgA go

2. IgG?-

1. mucosa surfaces

2. remains in circulation

what does colostrum stimulate in ruminants?

• villus growth of SI in mucosa

what is the latest time by law that we should feed colostrum

• 6 hours

when should we, idelaly feed an animal colostrum?

• <6 hours - up to 2 hours is the optimal time

when does the ability of the gut of a ruminant decrease significantly?

• 12 hours, fully losed at around 24 hours

what is FPT?

• failure of passive transfer

how do we describe animals that haven’t received enough colostrum?

• FPT - failed passive transfer

what percentage do we want FPT for:

1. calves/lambs/pigs

2. foals

1. <20%

2. 10-20%

what increass with increased FPT?

• neonatal scours and sepsis

what are the 5Qs of colostrum management?

1. quality

2. quantity

3. quickly

4. quite clean

5. quantify

what does quality mean in the 5Qs of colostrum management?

• >50m/L of IgG

what does quantity mean in the 5Qs of colostrum management?

• >150g IgG intake

what does quickly mean in the 5Qs of colostrum management?

• within 2hrs of birth

  • max 6 hours

what does quite clean mean in the 5Qs of colostrum management?

• <100,000 CFU/ml

what does quantify mean in the 5Qs of colostrum management?

• >10g/L IgG in serum

what has a negative affect on quality of colostrum?

• premature/inducedd birth

• pooling colostrum-dilution effect

• diseases-mastitis

• poor BCS - ketosis, metabolic disease

what has a positive effect on colostrum quality?

• dam vaccination

in terms of positively/negatively impacting colostrum, what is changing?

• volume of colostrum, the amount of IgG may not actually change

how much should colostrum should a calf get?

• 3-4litres/calf - as it should be 10-12% bodyweight

should we just leave the animal solely with the calf?

• no - should boost with colostrum

  • calves 2.4 times more likely to not get enough colostrum if left to suckle the dam

why may we bottle feed rather than bucket feed

• suckle reflex → closing of the groove in the rumen → milk to omasum

• if milk stays in the rumen → ferments → scour

how can we store colostrum and what don’t we do to thaw it?

• freeze/fridge

• we don’t heat >60 degrees → denaturation of IgG

how can we deal with colostrum with high bacterial counts?

• pasteurise at 60 degrees → yes this causes some denaturation of IgG but it’s worth it for the bacteria killed

how can we prevent high bacterial numbers in colostrum?

• clean and correct storage

what won’t pasteurising at 60 degrees eliminate?

• mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis - MAP

what should we do with any colostrum showing signs of mastitis?

• destroy/get rid of the milk

• separate calf and dam immediately

state 3 measurement methods for colostrum quality

1. colostrometer

2. colostro balls

3. brix refractometer

what is a colostrometer

• measures specific gravity of colostrum - directly relates to Ig content

what specifics do we need with using a colostrometer?

• 22 degrees C

• no froth on the top of the colostrum

using a colostrometer:

1. what is good quality

2. what’s poor quality

1. >50mg/mL

2. <20mg/mL

what are colostro balls

• they are used to measure colostrum indicated by the number of balls that float/remain sunken - related to density, which equates to Ig levels

what does 1 red cube of colostro balls indicate?

• poor quality of colostrum

what do 2 red colostro ball cubes tell us?

• moderate quality of colostrum

what do 2 red and 1 orange cube tell us about colostrum?

• reasonable quality of colostrum

what do 2 red, 1 orangs and 1 green cube tell us about colostrum?

• good quality of colostrum

what do 2 red, 1, orange and 2/3 green cubes tell us about colostrum quality

• very good quality of colostrum

how do we use a brix refractometer for measuring colostrum quality?

• it measures the protein fraction/total within the colostrum

• not quantitative

• >22% is the ideal, anything below 22% we want to discard

why do we assess if colostrum antibodies have transferred to the neonate?

• identify animals at risk

• identify changes to be implemented in management practices

• give % prevalence to the herd of FPT

how do we measure colostral antibody transfer?

• serum sample tested in a brix refractometer - measures protein fraction (total protein)

• can also use IgG snap tests - expensive for calves, less so for foals

what is a positive result for a brix test for colostral antibody transfer?

• >8.1%

what is a positive snap test for colostral antibody transfer?

• >800mg/mL

what is an FPT result for a snap test for colostral antibody transfer?

• <400mg/mL

what is one way we can correct FPT very quickly?

• serum transfusion

why is serum transfusion to improve FPT not commonly done?

• because very high cost!

what is the methodology of serum transfusion?

• blood collected from health adult and spun to harvest serum

• serum is transfused into the neonate

• reassess TP levels post-transfusion

what is the advantage of serum transfusion?

• serum can be administered at any stage following FPT results

What disease is associated with MAP?

• Johnes disease

what should we do with any johnes confirmed milk?

• should get rid of it - although it’s not a concern to human consumption (due to high temp pasteurisation) but it would be a concern for the cows welfare