Exam 2: Lecture 20 - Dairy Calf Nutrition Flashcards
what is important to remember about newborn calves
- naive immune system
- born into a contaminated enviro
- thermoregulation difficultly
- must control diseases of newborn
how can we control disease in the newborns
- adequate colostrum
- clean enviro
- protect against rapid heat loss
- caretakes should have clean hands
what is the immediate care of a newborn calf
- dry the calf
- dip navel in 7% iodine solution
- separate calf from cow (in dairy)
- hand-feed high quality colostrum
- move cow and calf to nursery pasture (in beef)
what are the 3 things we need to do for early nutritional management of dairy calf
- give colostrum
- milk or milk replacer
- weaning into solid food
within how many hours should we give colostrum
ideally within 4 hours following birth
how much does absorption of IgG decrease after 6 hours of birth
decreases by 30%
how much does absorption of IgG decrease after 8 hours of birth
decreases by 50%
how much does absorption of IgG decrease after 24 hours of birth
absorption is blocked
until what age can we use milk or milk replacer
until about 6 weeks of age
how do we wean onto solid food
- high quality hay
- calf starter - grain mix
what is colostrum
first milk produced by cow…usually more yellow and thicker
how many times can we actually milk to get colostrum
technically up to 6 but only the first is the highest quality
what antibodies are in colostrum
IgG - largest component
IgA - secretory IgA locally produced in mammary glands as well as derived from blood
what are some of the other antimicrobial factors in colostrum
lactoferrin, other peptides and enzymes produced by mammary epithelial cells
how can we determine the levels of immunoglobulins in colostrum
colostrometer
what is an adequate IgG level in colostrum
need at least 50mg/mL or more of IgG to be considered high quality
what other vitamin is in colostrum
vitamin A
T/F: gut becomes progressively less permeable to immunoglobulins over 24 hours following birth
TRUE
how much should plasma protein rise after an adequate colostrum meal
total plasma protein rises above 5.5 g/dL
what are some strategies to colostrum feed
- hand feed dairy calves
- feed full amount within first 4 hours
- feed half to 2.3 amount within first 2 hours and remainder by no later than 12 hrs
- feed full amount by esophageal feeder ASAP
- allow beef calves to nurse
T/F: gut absorption of colostrum decreases linearly at glut closure occurs at 24 hrs
true!!
how much colostrum do we feed for a calf 50-100 lbs
feed 3 quarts
how much colostrum do we feed for a calf <50lbs
feed 2 quarts
how much colostrum do we feed for a calf >100 lbs
feed 4 quarts
T/F: we should tube feed reluctant calves
true! via esophageal feeder
about ____% of dairy calves fail to attain adequate colostral antibody levels
40% of dairy calves
what happens if dairy calves fail to attain adequate colostral antibody levels
suffer more serious disease and are more likely to die
what is the critical level serum IgG
> 8 g/L or 0.8 g/dL IgG
when does gut permeability to absorption of immunoglobulins begin to decrease following birth?
A. 1 hr
B. 6 hrs
C. 12 hrs
D. immediately
D. immediately
what are the risk factors for colostrum failure
- cow leaking colostrum
- premature birth
- born to a heifer (lower quality0
what are the risk factors for death of newborn calves
rearing in groups of 7 or more
T/F: high volume does not always equal high quality colostrum
TRUE!!!
T/F: heifers produce less volume of colostrum with more IgG concentrations than cows
FALSE, less volume but LESS IgG
T/F: high producing cows tend to produce dilute colostrum
TRUE
T/F: require colostral IgG > 60 g/L to attain adequate antibody content
true
what are the characteristics of frozen colostrum
- use from a cow in the same herd
- must be from BLV-negative and Johne’s negative cows
what is the grams of IgG in commercial products to replace colostrum
must be at least 80 g
T/F: colostrum replacers and supplements are the same thing
FALSE, should use replacers
what are the different types of calf housing
- calf hutches
- coverall calf barn
- older calves in group pens
why do we not use the metal calf hutches
they heat up in hot weather and is bad for the babies
what are the characteristics of feeding whole cows milk
- can use surplus transition milk with colostrum or regular surplus milk
- be careful of mastitis milk
- can also add milk replacer
what is the average composition of cows milk
3.4% protein, 3.6% fat, 4.6% lactose, 12% DM
T/F: calf should be fed at least 10% of body weight daily
true!!
what is the esophageal groove
it connects the cardia region to omasum to allow milk to by-pass rumen for digestion in abomasum
where is the esophageal groove
fold of reticulum forms a groove between esophagus and reticulo-omasal orfice
what is the role of rennin and whey in calves
- when milk clots in abomasum rennin binds casein
- clot is then digested slowly over 12-18 hours
- whey is composed of water, minerals, lactose, and other proteins
what happens when the calf eats grain and hay
the rumen starts to develop
what is an alternatives to cows milk
milk replacer
what are the characteristics of milk replacer
- ideally dairy based but can be soy protein based
- feed 2x a day
- must weigh amount prior to mixing
what percent of BW should milk be fed to calves (minimum amount)?
A. 4% bw
B. 6% bw
C. 10% bw
D. 8% bw
C. 10% of bw
what is the conventional milk feed system
calves are fed 1.25% birth bw as milk solids and calves are weaned when eating at least 2 lbs of starter
what is the benefit of conventional milk feed system
limits expensive milk replacer, encourages early starter grain intake, and relies on starter intake for growth
what is the accelerated milk feeding system
milk feeding rate 2x that of conventional system
need to be eating 2lbs of starter at weaning to avoid slumps
what is the benefit of accelerated milk feeding system
starter intake lags behind the conventional system initially but catches up later
what is important for calf feeding hygiene
- it is critical to not touch anything with bare hands
- throughly clean utensils
- goals for milk solution should be <10,000 cfu
- pasteurize waste milk before feeding
what should we do with water for calves
available ad libitum
what should we keep in mind for concentrate/grain for dairy calves
- high quality, palatable calf starter
- high quality protein
- may be fed as pellets or meal
- introduce at 7 days old
- small amounts, change frequently
what should we keep in mind for hay feeding of dairy calves
- alfalfa is best
- introduce only after concentrate
- wait until after weaning
- feeding hay reduces non-nutritive suckling
what are the 3 biggest problems of calf-rearing
- disease in general
- diarrhea (scours)
- starvation
how can diarrhea occur in calves
- occur due to infection components (rotavirus, coronavirus, cryptosporidium, coccidian, e. coli, clostridium, salmonella)
- due to overcrowding or ingestion of FB
how can starvation occur in calves
- indicated by lack of fat at necropsy
- failure to follow management/feeding instructions
- intentional dietary restriction
- poor quality milk replacers
how do we know when we can start weaning calves
- calf must be eating at least 2 to 2.5 lbs starter daily for 3 days in a row
- ideally have gained 35 lbs since birth
- 4-10 weeks old
how to we reduce milk concentration prior to weaning
reduce consumption by 50% per day starting one week before weaning anf feed milk only SID
what do we do after weaning
- feed free choice hay and calf starter
- group house by age
