Just Nothing Like Calves to 

Keep you Humble

I just returned home from a church service in which one finds this sentence which is said at the imposition of ashes on one's forehead:

"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." BCP p265.

I am sure unlike other worshipers my thoughts turned to all the times in my work with calves. That is both as raising my own calves and as a consultant, I thought of all the times when I have gotten cocky, thinking confidently how much I knew about rearing calves. I knew all the answers.

Then, every time this happens I confront a situation for which I have no answer. I am cut right off at the knees. "If you are so smart why don't you know how to fix this?"

All a matter of perspective. Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return!

Antibodies in Colostrum Keep Bacteria from Growing?

I am reporting this with a straight face. Believe it or not. The dairyman tells me he doesn't worry about how he handles his colostrum. He said, "My colostrum is so high in antibodies that the bacteria won't grow in it."

I am not pulling your leg. Does he think antibodies are a disinfectant or something?

Somehow here we have a basic disconnect about antibodies. Recall that in plain terms antibodies identify and neutralize objects that are foreign to calves bodies such as bacteria and viruses.That's their job in the immune system. As such they do keep bacteria from multiplying inside the body of a calf.

I suppose that might be where this person got the idea that antibodies keep bacteria from growing. The part he missed entirely is that antibodies are part of the body's immune system - they work inside calves, not in pails of colostrum.

Maybe I will be inspired in the next week or two and come up with some very clear way to explain how antibodies work so even this guy will understand that he really does need to follow best management practices when handling his colostrum to control bacteria contamination levels. 

Bacteria Win Again

You start with a large, well-run dairy. Pool all the colostrum every day. Separate this into four batches each day.

#1 - batch heat-treatment at 140F for 60 minutes

#2 - heat-treatment in Perfect-Udder bags at 140F for 60 minutes

#3 - freeze fresh in same bags

#4 - refrigerate fresh in same bags

Then, get the colostrum ready to feed the calves (bring to calf body temperature) and take "as-fed" samples.

Culture the samples for bacteria to get (a) total plate count and (b) coliform count.

Average total plate counts (colony forming units/ml)

#1 batch heat-treated             4,000cfu/ml

#2 bag heat-treated               16,000cfu/ml

[Anything under 50,000cfu/ml is considered okay for feeding newborn calves.]

#3 Raw frozen/thawed bag     around 500,000cfu/ml (bacteria soup)

#4 Raw refrigerated bag         over 3,000,000cfu/ml (bacteria soup)

Average coliform counts

#1 batch heat-treated                13

#2 bag heat-treated                     3

[Anything under 5,000cfu/ml is considered okay for feeding newborn calves.]

#3 Raw frozen/thawed bag       6,300cfu/ml (not good)

#4 Raw refrigerated bag          63,000cfu/ml (just plain awful)

I have not corresponded with the research time but I suspect that the colostrum was not chilled promptly post-harvest. Thus, bacteria grew rapidly before the refrigerated and frozen lots got cold enough to slow down the rate of multiplication.

A.A. Kryzer, S.M. Godden and R. Schell, " Effect of feeding colostrum that was heat-treated with Perfect Udder system on passive transfer of immunoglobulin G in neonatal Jersey calves." Proceedings of American Association of Bovine Practitioners, p 171, September 2013.

Heat Treated Colostrum Wins Again!

In a recent research report efficiency of antibody absorption was compared between raw and heat-treated colostrum. Here are the facts (112 Jersey calves):

Heat-treated = 37%

Raw               = 32%

Average serum IgG concentration in the calves reflected this difference in efficiency of antibody absorption:

Heat-treated = 40mg/ml

Raw               = 35mg/ml

A.A. Kryzeer, S.M. Godden, R. Schell, " Effect of feeding colostrum that was heat-treated with the Perfect Udder system on passive transfer of immunoglobulin G in neonatal Jersey calves." Proceedings of American Association of Bovine Practioners, p. 171, September, 2013. 

What can you conclude if calves suckle before leaving the calving pen?

 

 

1. Except under unusually clean conditions calves received a substantial dose of E. coli bacteria before and during their first few swallows of colostrum when they begin suckling. If you can tell which teats the calf nursed (they are very clean) you can be more certain this is true. 

2. Since calves have to stand and begin walking in order to suckle, you can assume that suckling on teats is probably not all that happened. For example, sucking on the dam's brisket and flanks (remember all the little balls of manure on the hair in those places?). These sites are very productive sources of fecal coliform bacteria associated with persistent scours between 7 and 14 days of age.

3. Many calf care persons will be uncertain about how much additional colostrum to feed the newborn calf. The most common response is to not feed any more colostrum.

It is possible to estimate gut fill fairly accurately by feeling of the calf's belly. Using four quarts of warm colostrum and an esophageal tube feeder feed this amount to several calves that have not suckled. Before feeding, with the calf standing with her head against your belly slide your hands back over her rib cage until they reach her belly. Now, with your hands around her belly, estimate gut fill level.

Feed the calf. Repeat the gut fill palpation - note how much change has taken place. Repeat with another calf. After a few calves your hands will have quite a good sense of the difference between the "not-fed-calf" and the "full-calf."

If a calf has had an opportunity to suckle be sure to check her out - how full is she? Then make an educated guess how much more colostrum to feed.

 

Group Housing for Dairy Calves

 

Today I found the Penn State webinar resource on group housing for dairy calves. 

 

Find it HERE.  

The four presentations are:

 

Group Housed Dairy Calves: Why you might consider it, pros and cons (20 images)

Resource person: Jud Heinrichs

 

Thinking About Group Housing? Key considerations for success 10,000 ft. view from the field (52 images)

Resource person: Chris Rossiter-Burhans

 

Creating a Productive Environment for Calves in Group Housing (63 images)

Resource person: Dan McFarland

 

A Novel Approach to Confined Calf Barn Ventilation (34 images)

Resource person: Curt Gooch

 

Lots of ideas to toss around before making the change to group housing.

 

 

Everyone Knows the Dry Matter 

Composition of Waste Milk. Right?

Everyone knows that the dry matter composition of waste milk is 13 percent. Right?

No. Wrong!

I was pleased to find in a recent press release from Penn State the results of monitoring waste milk dry matter composition on nine dairy farms over a period fifteen days.

Farm  Average  Minimum  Maximum

#        D.M.       D.M.          D.M.

1          10.7        10.1           11.2

2          10.5          9.4           13.9     

3          10.1          9.3        10.8

4          10.5          8.6           11.7

5          10.3          8.3           11.0

6          10.1          9.0           10.9

7          10.2          9.8           10.7

8          10.8        10.2           11.8

9          10.3          9.7           10.6

Given the average dry matter from these nine farms is about 10.4 percent, the question is,"What rate of gain would we expect from feeding this milk to calves?"

If we assume a 90 pound calf in cold housing (20F) being fed this milk that tests 3.5% protein and 4.4% fat, then with the 10.4 dry matter waste milk:

Feeding  Estimated

Level      Rate of Gain

(Daily)    (Daily)

   4              Weight Loss

   5              0.5

   6              0.9

   7              1.3

   8              1.5

This can be compared with the same conditions feeding waste milk averaging 14% dry matter:

Feeding  Estimated

Level      Rate of Gain

(Daily)    (Daily)

  4               0.2

  5               0.8

  6               1.3

  7               1.7 

  8               1.9

Remember:

1. Measure, don't guess, dry matter in waste milk - it's easy to be very wrong.

2. Higher dry matter does make a difference in cold weather feeding for young calves.