Progress 06/30/14 to 01/31/15
Outputs
Target Audience: Sponsor: AgriLabs; Dairy Cattle Industry Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Final report submitted to sponsor, AgriLabs. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Forty-two Holstein calves were randomly allocated at birth to one of two treatment groups for this study. They were housed at the NC State Dairy Education Unit in Raleigh, NC. Calves were separated from their dam following an observed parturition and were not be allowed to nurse. Calves used in the study needed to weigh at least 60 pounds (27 kg), and all animals born as twins were excluded. After birth, calves were randomly allocated to 1 of 2 groups. Calves in group 1 (n=21) received four quarts of colostrum within three hours of birth via an esophageal feeder. Calves in group 2 (n=21) received one package of an experimental colostrum replacer (mixed with 2 quarts of water). The colostrum replacer was provided by AgriLabs and contained 150 grams of IgG. All calves in each group will be fed with an esophageal feeder within three hours of birth. A blood sample was collected from the jugular vein of each calf 24 hours after colostrum or colostrum replacer administration. The serum was stored at -4º C until analysis. Serum IgG concentrations were determined by radial immunodiffusion assays using a bovine IgG species reference serum that was obtained from USDA Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB). The assay has been validated for use in calves.1 Results Data are presented as mean ± SD. Mean serum IgG concentrations for each group were compared using one-way ANOVA. Values of P < 0.05 were considered significant. The proportion of calves in each group with serum IgG concentration less than 1,000 g/dL (to determine FTPI incidence) was compared to other groups using Fisher's exact test. Calves fed colostrum replacer had significantly lower mean serum IgG concentrations as compared to calves fed maternal colostrum, however there was no difference in the percentage of calves that had failure of transfer of passive immunity (Table 1). Conclusion Compared to the previous study done on the same dairy with Colostrx® 130 (Fidler et al.,2011), the results indicate the experimental formulation of colostrum replacer performed much better than the current product. In fact - 1 bag of the experimental products was almost identical to 2 bags of the current product in the previous study. The results of this study suggests that the "new" formula is capable of consistently achieving serum IgG concentrations >1,000 mg/dL in approximately 80% of calves fed 1 bag within a few hours of birth. References Chelack BJ, Morley PS, Haines DM. Evaluation of methods for dehydration of bovine colostrum for total replacement of normal colostrum in calves. Can Vet J 1993;34:407-412. Fidler, A.P., Alley, M.L., Smith, G.W. Serum immunoglobulin G and total protein concentrations in dairy calves fed a colostrum-replacement product. J Dairy Sci 2011;94:3609-3612. Table 1. Mean ± SD values for serum IgG and the percentage of failure of transfer of passive immunity (FTPI) in calves fed colostrum or an experimental colostrum replacer. Group Serum IgG (mg/dL) FTPI1 (%) Group 1 (1 bag CR) 1,250 ± 71a 80.9a (4/21) Group 2 (maternal colostrum) 2,390 ± 200b 90.5a (2/21)
Publications
|
|