Thursday, August 28, 2014

Energy in Colostrum Replacers

In a current article, "6 Tips to consider when shopping for colostrum replacement" by Dr. Tom Earleywine from Land 'O Lakes, published in Progressive Dairyman August 25, 2014, pp 42-44 we find advice on purchasing criteria.

One of the criteria deals with colostral fat. Tom's advice is to look for at least 20 percent fat. For cold weather conditions he suggests using a product that provides at least 100g of fat.

I thought I would check on the products that are sold here at our vet clinic. Neither product gives any information about fat on the outside of the container. I went online. Surely, the information would be there. Well, guess again. I found the fat content for one product online and not the other. Further checking showed that grams of fat is not a common listing. Some products do provide percentage information so with a total dry weight the actual grams of fat can be calculated.

Maybe checking with the sales rep would work. I will try to check with our rep the next time we have contact. 

The basic principle is still valid, however. Try to use a replacer product with enough energy to sustain the calf until the next feeding depending on the environmental conditions. In general, I have clients use a lower energy product during warm weather months (an economy measure) and switch to the higher energy product during cold weather months if they are located in a cold climate.

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