Acta Vet. Brno 2024, 93: 3-10
Evaluation of quality of colostrum on different sized dairy farms
Colostrum plays a crucial role in the passive transfer of immunity (PTI) in calves. The quality and quantity of colostrum have a significant impact on PTI. The objective of this study was to assess the quality of colostrum on dairy farms of different sizes. A total of 660 colostrum samples were obtained from 28 farms in 11 provinces in Türkiye. The colostrum samples were divided into five groups according to dairy farms size: Group I (1–100, n = 26), Group II (101–200, n = 37), Group III (201–500, n = 200), Group IV (501–1000, n = 235), Group V (> 1000, n = 162). Colostrum quality was assessed by a Brix refractometer (≤ 22% indicates poor quality colostrum) and evaluated statistically. The mean colostrum Brix% was 27.74 ± 0.14. The Brix% in Groups I–V were 24.04 ± 0.72, 25.70 ± 0.93, 28.11 ± 0.26, 28.46 ± 0.23 and 27.30 ± 0.21, respectively. The rate of poor quality colostrum for the total of 660 cows was 8.03%, for Groups I–V it was 34.61%, 29.72%, 6.0%, 5.53% and 4.93%, respectively. The rates of primiparity for Groups I–V were 65.38%, 54.05%, 49.0%, 35.31% and 43.2%, respectively. The colostrum Brix% was significantly (P = 0.014) lower in primiparous cows (27.08 ± 0.23) than in multiparous cows (28.25 ± 0.18). The highest rate of poor quality of colostrum was found in Groups I and II. This situation on small farms may be due to inadequate management and feeding.
