Factors affecting colostrum quality in Australian pasture-based dairy herds

The aim of this study was to identify factors affecting colostrum quality in dairy cattle.

Colostrum samples were collected from lactating dairy cows (n = 990) from nine commercial dairy herds in south-west Victoria. Colostrum quality was measured using an optical Brix refractometer. Cow-level factors thought to influence colostrum quality included season of calving, dam breed and age, volume of first-milking colostrum produced and whether the dam leaked colostrum prior to calving. Multivariable logistic regression was used to quantify the association between each cow-level factor and whether or not colostrum was assessed to be of poor quality.

Cows older than 5 years of age were less likely to have poor-quality colostrum compared with primiparous heifers (odds ratio (OR) 0.62, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.11-0.89, P = 0.009). The odds of having poor-quality colostrum was increased in cows and primiparous heifers that leaked colostrum prior to calving (OR 2.06, 95% CI, 1.33-3.17, P = 0.001). Cows and primiparous heifers that produced ≥ 8.5 L of colostrum were 1.76 times as likely to have poor-quality colostrum as individuals that produced < 8.5 L (95% CI, 1.10-2.82, P = 0.018). Visual assessment of colostrum by the herd manager was moderately correlated with colostrum quality, with 69% of poor-quality samples being correctly classified.

Although this study identified factors that increase the risk of poor-quality colostrum, we concluded that objective assessment using a Brix refractometer is a more reliable means of assessing colostrum quality.