Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2025, Vol. 56 ›› Issue (8): 3861-3871.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2025.08.026

• Animal Nutrition and Feeds • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of Different Milking Time after Delivery on Colostrum Quality and the Impact of Different Quality Colostrum on Passive Immune Transfer in Newborn Claves

BAO Xiaoping1,2(), CUI Junwei1,3, ZHAO Yulong1, GUO Cheng1, CHEN Ming4, BI Yanliang1,*()   

  1. 1. Beijing Key Laboratory for Dairy Cow Nutrition, Key Laboratory of Feed Biotechnology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Feed Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
    2. Dongying Aoya Modern Pasture Co., Ltd., Dongying 257345, China
    3. School of Animal Science and Technology, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China
    4. Modern Animal Husbandry (Ulanhot) Co., Ltd., Ulanhot 137400, China
  • Received:2025-01-10 Online:2025-08-23 Published:2025-08-28
  • Contact: BI Yanliang E-mail:xdmybxp@163.com;biyanliang@caas.cn

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different milking time on colostrum quality and the effects of colostrum quality on passive immunity and serum biochemical parameters of newborn calves. According to the time interval between delivery and milking, 329 cows on verge of delivery and at the second parity with good body condition were divided into four groups: Milking within 2 h after delivery, milking 2~4 h after delivery, milking 4~8 h after delivery and milking more than 8~12 h after delivery. The effect of different milking time after delivery on the content of immunoglobulin G (IgG) in colostrum was determined. Forty-five Holstein female calves (38 ±2 kg) with similar birth date were selected and randomly divided into three groups: High quality colostrum group, medium colostrum group and low quality colostrum group, with 15 calves in each group. Calves were fed with three different quality colostrum using the 4+2 feeding mode (4 L colostrum was given within 2 h after birth and 2 L colostrum was given 6 h after birth). The levels of IgG in colostrum were 63.8, 37.6 and 15.6 mg ·mL-1, respectively. Blood samples were collected from all calves after birth(0 h), 24 h and 48 h after colostrum feeding (within 2 h after birth), and the contents of total protein (TP), IgG, albumin (ALB), C3 and C4 in serum were analysed. The results showed that: 1) The IgG content of colostrum milked within 2 h after delivery was significantly higher than that of colostrum milked at 2~4 h, 4~8 h and more than 8 h after delivery (P < 0.01). 2) There was no significant difference in serum TP and IgG content among the three groups before colostrum was fed. At 24 h and 48 h after colostrum was fed, the serum TP and IgG content of the high quality colostrum group were significantly higher than those of the medium colostrum group and the low quality colostrum group (P < 0.01). 3) The average serum IgG content at 24 h and 48 h in high quality colostrum group and medium colostrum group were more than 10 mg ·mL-1 (the minimum IgG content for successful passive immunity of calves). In low quality colostrum group, the serum IgG content of 5 calves was less than 10 mg ·mL-1 at 24 h, accounting for 33.3% of calves in this group, and the serum IgG content of 4 calves was less than 10 mg ·mL-1 at 48 h, accounting for 26.7% of calves in this group. In conclusion, the shorter milking interval after delivery, the higher the quality of colostrum, and the highest content of IgG in colostrum was found when the milking interval was controlled within 2 h. High quality colostrum contributes to the successful passive immunity of newborn calves and has beneficial effects on serum biochemical parameters.

Key words: calves, colostrum quality, passive immunity transfer, serum immune indicators

CLC Number: