Effect of the interval between calving and colostrum harvest on colostrum quality in dairy cows on a New York dairy

Abstract

Colostrum management is one of the key factors in successful calf management. The estimated prevalence of failure of passive transfer in dairy heifer calves is still surprisingly high at 19.2%. In a recent study by Morrill and others, 30% of nationwide collected colostrum samples from dairy farms had immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations less than the industry-recommended 50 g/L. In recent years, an increasing amount of research in dairy cattle has focused on factors affecting colostrum quality including breed, age of dam, season of calving, volume of colostrum, and dry period length, whereas the effect of the interval between calving and first milking has only been addressed in a limited number of studies with small data sets. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of the interval between calving and first milking on the colostrum quality.