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Careful collection of colostrum and transition milk is critical for calf health

Colostrum and transition milk (TM) should always be at the forefront of calf rearers’ minds. We are very aware of the importance and value of first milking colostrum for transferring IgG into the calf’s blood and TM has a significant role to play in their development in the subsequent days post colostrum feeding. Both feed sources provide the newborn calf with first immunity against diseases and prepare them for a productive life.

However, how we manage the collection, handling, storage, and feeding of colostrum all have major roles to play in how much the colostrum and TM benefit the calf. If it becomes contaminated with bacteria, the quality will quickly decline.

Antimicrobial-resistant Bacteria

An interesting piece of German research (Weber et al., 2022) found 64% of calves in large dairies shed antimicrobial-resistant strains of E. coli in their faeces even though most of these calves had not been treated with antibiotics.

So how might they have been contaminated?

The calf shed, feeding equipment, and transport vehicles all got disinfected prior to the calves arriving and the prevalence of E. coli in the dams was low and had a different strain to what the calves were shedding.  Therefore, these were all unlikely sources.

All colostrum was pooled together so all calves were fed the same, when the researchers swabbed the pooled colostrum, and the buckets used to collect the colostrum it quickly showed that this was the contamination source – both the pooled colostrum and the collecting equipment. It was likely that the milking equipment contaminated the colostrum in the first place. This research is emblematic of how easily colostrum or TM can be contaminated with bacteria, viruses, and parasites. This makes pooling of these essential feeds a critical area for immunity or disease outbreaks on the farm.

Research from Homeier – Bachmann et al., (2021) showed the ability of some E.coli strains to form biofilms to protect against certain cleaning procedures. Other work in this area has also found antimicrobial resistant strains of E.coli in calf feeding equipment which hasn’t been properly washed and disinfected.

Waste Milk

Quite often there might be a surplus of what we call ‘waste milk’ on farms, this is milk that cannot be sold due to cows being treated with antibiotics and these are then passed on in their milk. In a lot of cases, this milk is fed to the calves to avoid dumping it, this can also be a major source of transmitting antimicrobial-resistant bacteria to young calves. 

Action Required

Antimicrobial resistance is a huge problem in both veterinary and human medicine, we must do as much as we can to prevent unnecessary transmission on farms.

• A strict cleaning regime must be in place and followed carefully to help prevent any biofilm build-up on milking equipment.

• Ensure the person collecting the colostrum is clean, wash hands, and wear gloves to prevent any contamination.

• Proper cleaning of the cow’s udder and teats before milking is important.

• Collect colostrum/TM in a clean bucket

• Calf feeding equipment can often have several parts, all of these should be taken apart and washed and disinfected frequently to prevent any build-up of bacteria.

• Careful if pooling colostrum – this can dilute quality and spread disease amongst calves if there are any issues in the herd i.e. Johnes or Mycoplasma.

• If not feeding immediately, refrigerate or freeze to help preserve quality.

• Avoid feeding waste milk to calves

• TM replacer is a consistent and clean alternative that can extend TM feeding.

Colostrum Storage

Bacteria can rapidly multiply every 20 minutes in ambient temperatures; therefore, it is not recommended that colostrum/TM is left sitting out from one feed to the next.

Refrigerate: 1-2 days

Freeze: Up to 1 year

Pasteurise: Best practice to pasteurise immediately as this process cannot undo any contamination or improve quality.

It is good practice to label colostrum with date, cow ID, and vaccination status.

In conclusion, all colostrum differs in quality but how we handle and store it makes a massive difference to the outcome. Therefore, great care and attention to providing top-notch hygiene are essential in all aspects of calf rearing.

References

Homeier-Bachmann, T. et al. 2021. Antibiotic-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in wastewater of abattoirs. Antibiotics (Basel). 

Weber, L. P. et al. 2021. Prevalence and risk factors for ESBL/AmpC-E. coli in pre-weaned dairy calves on dairy farms in Germany. Microorganisms 9:2135.

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