Dairy Questions

[Tango]

How long do cows produce colostrum after calving? In a commercial dairy when are cows usually put back on the milk line? Thanks in advance

[Up North]

In our operation we usually withold milk from the milktank for 3 to 4 days. By then the cows milk is pretty much normal.

Heather

[john in la]

For what purpose do you need this info. That may help answer the question.

If you are looking for a holding period 4 days is good.

If you are looking as to calf rearing it changes from the get go.
The colostrum starts out pure and very high lgC or something like that.
This is very important to the new born calf.

Over time the colostrum starts to dilute to where at about 36 to 48 hours it is transition colostrum and then by about 72 hours it is milk.

No I do not know all this stuff of the top of my head. But I have been reading a lot about colostrum over the past few days. I even see where they are marketing colostrum as a health food. I did not know that before.

[Tango]

Thank you. The information is for an article I am writing. I've been googling it all morning and don't come up with a reason why the calf is removed from cow at birth yet the cow is not producing milk at the time. Seems like the greatest benefit for the first 3 days is to keep cow and calf together. Unless the cow is put back on the line and colostrum is going into the tank. Or the cow is milked for colostrum to make specialty colostrum replacers ro something. These are mainly the very big dairies that I'm thinking about like MacArther Farms back in Florida. John, what I've read on colostrum from dairy cows is that it is not fit for human consumption

[john in la]

OK
A calf is removed from a cow at birth for many reasons.
Large producing cows have big low utters that are really to low to chance that a calf can nurse correctly. They give way to much milk for a calf and needs to be milked out to prevent mastitis. It gets them use to the barn routine again before real milking starts.
Most colostrum is milked out and then poured down the drain.

Here is a link to the health food aspect.

http://www.colostrumnz.com/inner/faqs.htm

[Tango]

Thanks John!

[Up North]

Tango and John - In Eastern Europe(Albania for example), when a cow freshens the colostrum is carefully collected to make a special Custard for the family consumption that is considered a SPECIAL TREAT. Colostrum is rich in minerals and natural antibodies. If it is not fit for human consumption this is probably an American viewpoint due to extensive use of antibiotics, and most colostrum is not harvested and carefully collected in clean containers.

***BIOSECURITY is the main reason Dairy Farms, both large and small, are being taught to remove all calves from mother's presence at birth. The primary motivator(Driver) behind this is the prevention or containment of JOHNE'S DISEASE. The science behind this strategy is correct. The ingestion of manure from a Johne's infected cow by a calf less than 45 days old is primary transition agent of disease.

John BTW no colostrum goes down the drain here. It becomes Porkchops, Bacon, or Holiday Turkey.

[Ken Scharabok]

On calves and colostrum: My understanding is when a calf is born the sides of their intestions are fairly porous. The antibodies, etc. in the colostrum can pass through it. However, as soon as the calf is born those pores begin to close to where after about 18 or so hours basically all of the colostrum in the milk is simply digested rather than helping the immune system.

[Michael W. Smith]

At our local dairy farm which milks about 50 head of cows, the calf is seperated from the cow at birth. The cow is milked out at the same time as the other cows (she walks in with the same group, gets into her stall, etc), but her milk is kept in a bucket milker where as the other cow's milk goes into the bulk tank.

The farmer uses the colostrom milk to feed any calves he has and what the calves don't eat are fed to the cats or dumped. (Unless I'm there to buy it for half the price of regular milk) to feed to my goat babies.

The farmer keeps them out of the milk line for about 3 or 4 days.

[Tango]

Wow, thank you for all the information. I think I'll pass on the colostrum custard thans just the same
One question though about Johne's is there a test for that? I'm asking for personal knowledge as I'd meant to keep my Jersey's calf with her and just add another calf for her to raise. Foals do that poop eating too, btw.

[milkstoolcowboy]

Most antibiotic dry cow treatments require 96 hour withholding, so the first 8 milkings do not go in the tank.

John is right, typically 3 days after freshening is the tail-end of colostrum.

We give colostrum milk for the first 3-4 feedings, but we don't dump the withheld milk down the drain, the sows get it.

[Up North]

Originally Posted by Tango

Wow, thank you for all the information. I think I'll pass on the colostrum custard thans just the same
One question though about Johne's is there a test for that? I'm asking for personal knowledge as I'd meant to keep my Jersey's calf with her and just add another calf for her to raise. Foals do that poop eating too, btw.

Yes there is a test for Johne's. But at this time they are highly innacurate. A cow can carry the Johne's organism for years, all the while shedding it in her manure and infecting other calves on the farm if they have access to an area she has been.
Calves don't intentionally eat poop as a hog would do. Only that they ingest it by sucking on dirty fences, pipes, or rails in calving pens, or take it off cow's flanks when attempting to find udder to nurse.
Johne's is a disease most often BOUGHTEN. That is farms growing cow numbers thru purchases from other farms and bringing it home. It is an insidious wasting disease that is costing the dairy industry millions each year.
A small family herd with clean facilities that raises 100% of their own replacements is least likely to have Johne's, but this is no gaurantee either.

[JeffNY]

It depends on the cow, some see a steep decline with colosturum @ 3 milkings. However for the most part it is 5-6 milkings before it goes in the tank. Again, depends on the cow. We had one go several days before her milk normalized, while another was 3 milkings untill hers normalized.



Jeff

[scorpian5]

Milk is dumped because the cow was treated when she was dried off and most of the time the milk has penicillin in it. For most cows that freshen it takes one milking maybe to before the sample comes back clean depending on how long she was dry.

[Tango]

Originally Posted by Up North

Calves don't intentionally eat poop as a hog would do. Only that they ingest it by sucking on dirty fences, pipes, or rails in calving pens, or take it off cow's flanks when attempting to find udder to nurse.

I meant foals, not piglets. I was reading this weekend that foals eat the mother's feces aiding themselves in establishing intestinal flora. Their intestines are sterile at birth. I don't know if this is actually eating it or getting it incidentally the way you describe calves do. I wonder if it would serve the same purpose for calves? Lots of thought provoking information for my article. Thanks everyone

[Up North]

I'm pretty sure foals acutally eat their mothers poop for the reasons you stated above.

Heather

[milkinpigs]

Originally Posted by Up North

I'm pretty sure foals acutally eat their mothers poop for the reasons you stated above.

Heather

I've always been close to my mom but not THAT close.

[dcross]

<<I wonder if it would serve the same purpose for calves? >>

It wouldn't really help, since their rumens are non-functioning at first.

[Up North]

Originally Posted by milkinpigs

I've always been close to my mom but not THAT close.

Best stick with her world famous Chocolate Pie.