Calves with Sam

Successful Passive Transfer of Immunity

 

I thought you might like to see what a well-organized colostrum management program can accomplish on a commercial Holstein dairy herd. Here are the blood serum total protein numbers.

 

Note on Blood Serum Total Protein Values:

Current visit                                                  January          October

Number of reported values = 147                   138                  114

Number of values at 4.5 or below = 4             2                      1

Number of values at 5.0 or below = 6             7                      2

Number of values below 5.5 = 19                   9                      6         

Average = 6.1                                                  6.3                   6.4

Median = 6.1                                                   6.3                   6.4

Four quarts of colostrum (greater than 50g/L - green on Colostrometer, 22 on Brix refractometer) within the first hour followed by two more quarts 12-16 hours later.

 

The four very low values below 4.5 were traced back to one employee who is no longer responsible for feeding newborn calves.