Table 3.
Categorical colostrum feeding practices and quality for preweaned dairy calves on 104 US operations from March 2014 to September 2015
| Variable | Level | Operations1 |
Heifer calves |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Percent | Number | Percent | ||
| Source2 | Dam of calf | 77 | 74.0 | 1,372 | 54.9 |
| First lactation | 66 | 85.7 | 422 | 30.8 | |
| Second lactation | 67 | 87.0 | 344 | 25.1 | |
| Third or higher lactation | 69 | 89.6 | 432 | 31.5 | |
| Lactation not reported | 30 | 174 | |||
| Other dam | 43 | 41.3 | 575 | 23.0 | |
| Pooled | 33 | 31.7 | 493 | 19.7 | |
| Dam and other dam | 10 | 9.6 | 28 | 1.1 | |
| Colostrum replacer | 6 | 5.8 | 33 | 1.3 | |
| Not reported | 5 | 44 | |||
| Heat treatment of colostrum | Yes | 9 | 8.7 | 171 | 6.8 |
| No | 94 | 91.3 | 2,326 | 93.2 | |
| Not reported | 1 | 48 | |||
| Feeding method | Bottle | 81 | 77.9 | 1,566 | 63.2 |
| Esophageal feeder | 35 | 33.7 | 277 | 11.2 | |
| Bottle and esophageal feeder | 11 | 10.6 | 64 | 2.6 | |
| Pail | 1 | 1.0 | 24 | 1.0 | |
| Suckled from dam | 53 | 51.0 | 547 | 22.1 | |
| Not reported | 10 | 67 | |||
| Brix completed on-farm | Yes | 18 | 17.3 | 300 | 11.8 |
| No | 86 | 82.7 | 2,245 | 88.2 | |
| Colostrum IgG (g/L) quality | Poor (<40 g/L) | 76 | 73.8 | 300 | 13.3 |
| Fair (40–50 g/L) | 79 | 76.7 | 211 | 9.4 | |
| Excellent (>50 g/L) | 103 | 100.0 | 1,742 | 77.3 | |
| Not reported | 51 | 292 | |||
| ≥90% of samples with excellent quality (>50 g/L) | 17 | 16.5 | |||
| At least 1 sample <50 g/L | 93 | 90.3 | |||
| Serum IgG (g/L) quality | Failure (<10 g/L) | 79 | 76.0 | 325 | 13.0 |
| Fair (10–14 g/L) | 87 | 83.7 | 356 | 14.3 | |
| Excellent (≥15 g/L) | 104 | 100.0 | 1,817 | 72.7 | |
| Not reported | 19 | 47 | |||
| ≥90% of calves with excellent serum IgG | 17 | 16.3 | |||
| ≥80% of calves with excellent serum IgG | 36 | 34.6 | |||
| Serum total protein (g/L) quality | Failure (<5.1 g/L) | 82 | 78.8 | 390 | 15.6 |
| Fair (5.1–5.3 g/L) | 84 | 80.8 | 224 | 9.0 | |
| Excellent (≥5.4 g/L) | 104 | 100.0 | 1,882 | 75.4 | |
| Not reported | 19 | 49 | |||
| ≥90% of calves with excellent serum total protein | 22 | 21.2 | |||
| ≥80% of calves with excellent serum total protein | 45 | 43.3 | |||
| Serum Brix (%) score | Failure (<8.1%) | 81 | 77.9 | 379 | 15.2 |
| Fair (8.1–8.5%) | 88 | 84.6 | 337 | 13.5 | |
| Excellent (≥8.6%) | 104 | 100.0 | 1,778 | 71.3 | |
| Not reported | 21 | 51 | |||
| ≥90% of calves with excellent serum Brix | 16 | 15.4 | |||
| ≥80% of calves with excellent serum Brix | 37 | 35.6 | |||
1
Operation percentages were calculated by dividing the variable level by the total number of operations reported for each variable. Operations may have had calves in more than one variable level; therefore, the sum of a variable might not always equal 100%.
2
Some heifer calves may have received colostrum from multiple sources.