SAINT PAUL/USA, June 14th (Biermann) – In 497 heifer calves born in twelve commercial dairies located in Minnesota and Wisconsin, Dr. Patrick Pithua and colleagues evaluated longevity, milk production, and breeding performance in Holstein cows fed either a plasma-derived commercial colostrum replacer (CR) or raw bovine maternal colostrum (MC) at birth.

The researchers from University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, report separating the calves from their dams within 30 to 60 minutes after birth. The animals were systematically assigned to be fed either MC (control group with 261 calves) or CR (treatment group with 236 calves).

Calves were observed approximately 54 months, from birth to adulthood, during which time to death and culling events plus milk yield and breeding performance data were collected. Time to death, time to culling, time to death or culling combined, time to first calving, and time to conception intervals were evaluated by use of proportional hazards survival analysis models, Pithua and colleagues write. Apart from that, number of times inseminated per conception and lifetime milk yield were evaluated by use of general linear models.

The investigators observed that cows fed CR at the time of birth were no different than cows fed MC as calves with respect to overall risk of death, culling, or death or culling combined, lifetime milk yield, and breeding performance.

References

• Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, June 1, 2010, Vol. 236, No. 11, Pages 1230-1237