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