Effect of Extended Colostrum Feeding on the Performance of Jersey Heifers

This study aimed to investigate how extended colostrum feeding in Jersey heifer calves can affect their growth and development. Research has shown beneficial results in Holsteins, but research has not been done on the Jersey breed. Colostrum is the first milk any mammalian mother gives. It is rich in antibodies known as immunoglobulins. It is essential for any newborn to intake colostrum to receive what is known as the passive transfer of immunity, as a newborn’s immune system is underdeveloped and has no exposure to the outside world. Colostrum is also higher in protein and fat compared with regular milk. After about 24 hours, the composition of the colostrum will begin to transition into regular milk, so it is essential that the newborn nurses and consumes colostrum as soon as possible.

The experiment was conducted at the Shenandoah Jerseys farm in Boonsboro, Maryland. We would like to thank the Hess family for allowing us to use their herd for this study.

• After the calves were born, they were placed in a solitary pen.
• Control group: 2 total colostrum feedings, 1 day
• Treatment Group: 6 total colostrum feedings, 3 days (2X day)

After their colostrum feeding period was finished, they were all moved to a group pen with a free choice milk feeder that fed milk replacer until they were weaned at 77 days. Calves from both groups were housed in the same group pen, the only difference was during the colostrum period.

Data was collected for body weight, heart girth, and hip height.

• Heart girth is a measurement of the circumference of the animal's body. A tape measure is wrapped around the animal right behind the shoulder blades.
• Hip height was measured using a ruler with a balance beam placed at the rump of the cow.
   

The data found that there was a tendency towards significance for an increase in weaning weight, average daily gain, and heart girth for the treatment group compared to the control group. Hip height did not differ significantly between groups. Birth weight did not differ significantly between groups indicating that the treatment group did not have an advantage at birth. These results indicate that extended colostrum feeding for jersey calves leads to accelerated weight gain and fuller bodied calves at weaning.

The calves will now be tracked all the way till their first lactation to assess differences in reproduction and lactation between treatment and control groups. This will be the deciding factor on whether or not it is economically feasible to have extended colostrum feeding in Jersey calves.

These results were presented as a poster at the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) Annual Meeting by Niraj Suresh, a master's student working under Dr. Fabiana Cardoso. Other authors include Jeff Semler; a principle extension agent in Washington County, Sarah Potts; a former beef and dairy extension specialist, and Emily Stamper. The ADSA annual meeting is internationally recognized as the premier dairy science conference. The poster received positive feedback from various respected scientists from several institutions across the globe.

This article appears on September 2024, in Volume 5, Issue 2, of the Maryland Milk Moos newsletter.