Immunoglobulin G (IgG) is key to a strong, robust start to life and for fighting infections, making IgG content a critical factor when assessing the quality of colostrum.
Failure of Passive Transfer (FPT) occurs when a calf or other new-born animal fails to obtain or absorb adequate quantities of IgG antibodies from colostrum in the first 24 hours of life – making it susceptible to disease and death.
And affecting long term productivity.
What contributes to FPT?
- Feeding colostrum with inadequate levels of IgG
- Feeding insufficient volumes of colostrum
- Feeding colostrum too late after birth
- Bacteria contaminating colostrum at harvest, during storage or at feeding
Numerous factors influence the IgG content of colostrum, such as:
- An insufficient quantity of colostrum
- Inferior quality of colostrum, ie colostrum collected from cows after the first 24 hours post birth
- Poor maternal instincts
- Suckling drive of the baby animal
Why can feeding enough high-quality colostrum be a challenge?
- Time and staffing constraints during calving often result in newborn animals not getting enough colostrum in the first hours after birth.Ideally, the animals should receive a minimum of 10% of their birthweight (that’s approximately 4L for a calf) in liquid colostrum in the first 12 hours of life.
- Maternal colostrum quality (IgG, fat and protein concentrations and volumes) is often variable and poor.High quality colostrum contains IgG levels of 15% or more and should also be high in fat and protein.
In a 2015 study by Dairy NZ, only 10 percent of 298 colostrum samples collected from cows at multiple times during the calving season had immunoglobulin concentrations over the recommended levels. And only 11 percent of samples had acceptable (low) bacterial contamination levels¹.
If colostrum quality is an issue on your farm, NEW AgriVantage Launchpad 18 Colostrum Powder (with 18% IgG) could be your best solution.
We look forward to launching this product very soon.
To find out more, contact Warren Tanner on 021 370 222 or fill in your e-mail below and we’ll be in touch.