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Top Tips for colostrum- a video guide.

“Every calf has a value” is now firmly entrenched in all aspects of calf management and, as an increasing number of farmers are keeping more calves for longer periods of time, the sector is learning about what works well and less well.

Multiple studies and on-farm experience re-enforce the theory that calves with a high immune status do far better as youngsters and later in life, than those with a lower immune status, even if fed an enriched diet in their early days. Key to this is ensuring adequate quality colostrum is fed at the right time.

Top tips for colostrum feeding:

· Test colostrum on a Brix refractometer – should be >22%

· Clearly label any being kept and store at the appropriate temperature or freeze for use later

· Calves should have a four-litre feed of colostrum within two hours of birth, tubed if they can’t or won’t suck

· They should have another two litres within 12 hours of birth

“Once calves have had two successful colostrum feeds, trial work and feedback from farmers shows benefits of feeding the only transition milk-based milk replacer – Transformula,” says Bonanza Calf Nutrition’s Selina Field. “Transition milk is the milk produced by the cow two to three days after calving and is that produced after colostrum and before saleable whole milk. Transition milk has a higher fat and protein content than whole milk and also contains non-nutritive bioactive molecules that are present in colostrum, albeit at lower concentrations.”

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