Survey demonstrates calf rearers recognise value of transition milk

Growing numbers of farmers are understanding the value of transition milk to the health and future potential of their calves.

Ingredients include an insulin-like growth factor, and glucagon-like peptide 2, which enhances the growth of epithelial tissue, and oligosaccharides, which promote the closure of the intestinal wall.

As Figure 1 shows, 32% of survey participants fed transition milk for one or two days post-colostrum feeding, 26% for three to six days, and 21% for seven days or more.

TM is the next best feed to colostrum, a valuable source of nutrition for baby calves as it contains elevated levels of good quality fat and protein, important antibodies, and a range of bioactive ingredients needed by the developing calf at this crucial time.

Recent trial work, at Harper Adams University and in France, has demonstrated the extent of that value.

Harper Adams University study

Heifers fed a transition milk replacer in their first 10 days of life produced 947 litres more milk in their first lactation compared to a similar group fed a standard powder.

The recent trial, involving 36 animals, investigated the long-term effects on Holstein Friesian heifer calves from feeding a transition milk replacer.

The calves were evenly split into two groups according to their birthweight and dam parity, all receiving four litres of pasteurised good quality colostrum at birth.

In their first 10 days, one group was fed Transformula, a transition milk replacer manufactured by Bonanza Calf Nutrition, and the other a standard calf milk replacer (CMR).

The study followed all the animals through to their first lactation.

On average, heifers in the transition milk group produced 8,625 litres a head in that lactation, or 617kg of milk solids, compared to the standard CMR group who produced 7,678 litres a head at 532kg milk solids.

That equates to an additional 947 litres of milk and 85kg of butterfat and protein.

This demonstrates that colostrum and transition milk work together to create a solid foundation for good health and lifelong development.

French trial

The recent trial in France looked at the effects of feeding Transformula.

Calves were split into two groups, and both received the same colostrum treatment for the first three days after they were born.

On day four, calves in Group A were fed a good quality 40% skim-based milk replacer (MR) at 23% crude protein and 19% fat for 21 days while those in Group B received Transformula for that period.

The same quantities of powder were fed throughout the trial period.

The results showed that the Transformula group had, at 650g/calf/day, significantly higher weight gains when they were 30 days old compared to calves that received the standard MR – these grew at 480g/calf/day.

This meant that in their first month of life, the Transformula group gained an average of 5.1kg, 35% more than calves fed the standard MR.

This extra growth can be a major contributory factor in heifers calving at 24 months.

Over a quarter of the calves in Group A in the French trial, which received standard MR, experienced scours during the first month of life while there were no cases in the group fed TM replacer. This finding correlates with other recent studies (Kargar et al., 2021).

Why feed transition milk?

Transition milk is Nature’s ideal follow-up feed to colostrum as the levels of immunity-stimulating components are much higher than standard whole milk/MR.

It supports the young calf’s rapidly evolving gut, promoting intestinal development and protecting against pathogens.

Lining the gut with transition milk tops up the nutrients and bioactive material to nourish the intestinal wall.

Alternatives to cow transition milk

For practical reasons it is not always possible to feed cow TM in the first three weeks and there is also the risk of spreading milk-borne diseases such as Johnes and mycoplasma from cow to calf.

Often, in situations where storage is inadequate, large volumes of transition milk are stored in buckets from one feed to the next, allowing bacteria to flourish. This is then fed to calves.

In this situation, instead of exposing calves to this bacteria, Transformula offers an alternative.

It contains ingredients that help protect and develop the small intestine, improving health, weight gains, and general contentment in calves which would otherwise receive regular MR.

It also offers a means of extending transition milk feeding once the cow has finished producing it.