Abstract
Submitted 2020-07-03 | Accepted 2020-09-08 | Available 2020-12-01 https://doi.org/10.15414/afz.2020.23.mi-fpap.190-196 The administration of high quality colostrum reduces preweaning morbidity, mortality and, therefore, economic losses related to replacement animals. It also stimulates and improves calf growth, increasing milk production and longevity of the future dairy cows. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of breed and parity of the dam on colostrum quality, and of breed and gender of the calf, and time from calf birth to the administration of the first colostrum meal on the transfer of passive immunity to the calf by the field test of the Failure of Passive Transfer (FPT) on calf serum. A further objective was to improve the diagnostic accuracy of the field FPT test through a second laboratory phase improving the turbidity evaluation. The amount of IgG fed to calves (IgG concentration multiplied by the volume of colostrum administered) was influenced by dam parity as significant differences (P < 0.05) were detected between first- and fourth-parity cows, and between second- and fourth-parity cows. The administration of good quality colostrum (IgG > 50 mg/ml) between 5 and 9 h of life was able to reduce the risk of FPT more effectively than the administration performed within the first 4 h of life. However, further studies on larger sample size is needed to confirm the present findings. The spectrophotometric measurements confirmed the results obtained by the field turbidity test at 14% sodium sulphite dilution. It would be interesting in future to expand the dataset and validate the spectrophometric method. Keywords: Failure of Passive Transfer, colostrum, immunoglobulin, breed, gender References ATKISON, D. J., VON KEYSERLINGK, M. A. G. and WEARY, D. M. (2017). 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Highlights
The synepitheliochorial placenta of cows does not allow the transfer of immunoglobulins from the dam to the fetus during gestation, calves are agammaglobulinemic at birth (Wooding, 1992, Weaver et al, 2000) and have an immature immune system (Nonnecke et al, 2003)
Since only good quality colostrum, if properly administered, allows the calves to achieve a sufficient immune coverage of maternal origin, it is of great importance to establish the quality of this secretion before administering it to the newborn
On-farm protocols usually recommend that an appropriate absorption of IgG in calves can be achieved by administering a minimum of 4 L of high quality colostrum, defined as a colostrum containing more than 50 g of IgG/L, within the first 24 h of life, when the closure of the intestinal barrier against antibodies occurs (Godden, 2008)
Summary
The synepitheliochorial placenta of cows does not allow the transfer of immunoglobulins from the dam to the fetus during gestation, calves are agammaglobulinemic at birth (Wooding, 1992, Weaver et al, 2000) and have an immature immune system (Nonnecke et al, 2003). The IgG concentration of colostrum has been reported to differ among parity order in Holstein (Tyler et al, 1996, Moore et al, 2005, Gulliksen et al, 2008), but not in crossbreed cows (Coleman et al, 2015, Hang et al, 2017). Breed may have an influence on the quality of colostrum. Muller and Ellinger (1981) reported that the highest Ig concentration was detected in Jersey and the lowest in Holstein (IgG) and Guernsey cows (immunoglobulins A and M). Besser and Gay (1994) observed that less than 30% of Holsteins had concentration of colostral IgG greater than 60 mg/ml, whereas 40% of Jersey and 60% of crossbred beef cattle produced colostrum with concentrations of IgG that were greater than this threshold Breed may have an influence on the quality of colostrum. Muller and Ellinger (1981) reported that the highest Ig concentration was detected in Jersey and the lowest in Holstein (IgG) and Guernsey cows (immunoglobulins A and M). Besser and Gay (1994) observed that less than 30% of Holsteins had concentration of colostral IgG greater than 60 mg/ml, whereas 40% of Jersey and 60% of crossbred beef cattle produced colostrum with concentrations of IgG that were greater than this threshold
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