The quality of colostrum has a great influence on the development and health of calves from birth to weaning. Since there are few studies on the quality of colostrum in Slovenia, we wanted to find out what the quality of colostrum is and what factors influence its quality. Therefore, we took 95 samples of the first, second and third milking after calving from 35 cows in three different farms. The samples were analysed for IgG content, crude protein and crude fat content, and fatty acid composition using the Elisa test, while %Brix was determined using the refractometer (%Brix). The statistical model considered the influence of breed, calving season, consecutive milking and consecutive lactation. We found that consecutive milking and cow breed had a significant effect on IgG content and %Brix in colostrum, while consecutive lactation and calving season had no effect. Eighty-eight percent of the samples of first milking colostrum contained more than 50 g IgG/L and thus had sufficient IgG to be considered suitable for first drinking. The 22% Brix threshold for first milk colostrum was met by only 37% of the samples. Since colostrum does not always contain sufficient protective substances after the first milking, its quality should be checked regularly before it is administered as the first drinker. It is recommended to freeze the surplus of high quality colostrum if a cow does not have enough colostrum or the quality does not meet the quality standards.
|