Colostrum quality halves after the first milking

The benefits of feeding an appropriate amount of colostrum in a timely manner are well identified (use the first milk from the cow, feed the calf three litres within the first two hours of life).

According to Emer Kennedy, Moorepark, research completed last year at Teagasc Moorepark has shown what factors affect the quality of the colostrum offered to the calf. The quantity of antibodies (immunoglobulins) in colostrum determines quality.

Newborn calves should receive colostrum from the cow’s first milking; the quality of the colostrum halves between the first and the second milking.