Adequate feeding of the lamb

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At birth, colostrum is extremely important for the young animal because it provides disease-fighting maternal antibodies as well as essential nutrients. If colostrum is not available or insufficient from the ewe, the lamb can be provided colostrum from another ewe, ewe or cow frozen colostrum warmed to body temperature.

For the first two weeks of life, lambs need to be fed every 2-3 hours (night meals can be provided every 4 or 5 hours) and then every 4 hours for the next weeks, according to their health status.

For the first several weeks of life, lamb requirements for nutrients are covered by maternal milk. By the time lambs are 4 to 6 weeks old, they may be obtaining as much as 50 percent of their nutrient intake from sources other than their mother’s milk.

Feeding programs of lambs vary, usually affected by the type of production, market options, geographic location, and cost and availability of feedstuffs. Most of the time, lambs born in winter are creep-fed and finished on high concentrate diets, whereas lambs born later in the season are finished at pasture with the ewes. Some feeding programs utilize both pasture and grain.

Colostrum management in lambs

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Colostrum contains a complex mixture of proteins that actively participate in the protection of the neonate, through passive immune transfer, against pathogens and other postpartum environmental challenges.

Animals growing under an artificial rearing system need to be fed, by bottle, an adequate amount of colostrum during their first days of life, to obtain adequate passive immune transfer and increase future productivity. It has been reported that lambs not fed colostrum in the first hours of life are more susceptible to diseases and mortality. Therefore, it is crucial to provide an optimal colostrum source.

Lambs need to be fed an amount of colostrum (pasteurized at 63 degrees Celcius for 30 minutes) equivalent to 8 g of IgG/ Kg body weight, divided into three equal meals in the first 24 h after birth, given 2, 14 and 24 hours after birth. This corresponds, on average, to about 150-200 ml colostrum per feeding. The amount of colostrum produced by the mother and its composition can be affected by several factors such as nutrition and/or litter size. Lambs fed with cow colostrum run the risk of developing anaemia. In addition to the amount of colostrum fed, management during the milk feeding and weaning period, such as stress produced by dam separation, milk quality and suckling frequency, can affect the final immune status of lambs.

Thus, feeding the newborn ruminants with adequate quantity of colostrum, as early as possible after birth, is an effective good practice to obtain good passive immune transfer for optimal protection of lambs, so their health is improved and less likely to need antibiotic treatments for the infections.

Clearing Farm-specific colostrum from Johne’s disease causative MAP bacterium to prevent horizontal cow-calf transfer of paratuberculosis.

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Johne’s disease or Paratuberculosis in cattle can cause detrimental productive and economic losses to dairy and beef farms as well as impaired animal welfare in clinical and terminal stages of the disease. Control and eradication of the disease are difficult and lengthy considering the long incubation time of the disease, the infected animals shedding the MAP-bacterium (Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis) long before clinical signs occur and the absence of accurate diagnostics in the early stage of infection.

It is clear that prevention is better than cure. However, in the eradication of the disease it is important to stop direct transfer from the cow to the calf. One aspect of this strategy includes clearing the MAP bacterium from the colostrum of infected cows before feeding it to newborn calves. While colostrum can be pasteurized to kill off bacteria you also risk destructing the much needed maternal antibodies that offer the calves their immunological protection in the first weeks of life.

ILVO’s food pilot has developed a decontamination protocol consisting of different heat treatments and centrifugation steps to clear the colostrum from MAP whilst optimally preserving the antibody count. First the colostrum gets heated up to 53°C for 30 minutes followed by skimming. Next is another heating step up to 70°C for 30 minutes. Afterwards the colostrum is cleared by centrifugation and bottled in easy to use and sizable portions. This service allows dairy and beef farmers to have their farm-specific colostrum cleared from the MAP bacterium.

Weaning piglets

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Weaning is a difficult time for both piglets and sows. To reduce the negative effects of weaning, the sow and piglets must be prepared for this critical event. In Romania, on large farms weaning is done at the age of 35 days when the piglets weigh on average 6-8 kg, and in small subsistence farms, it is done at the age of 8 weeks when they weigh 12-14 kg. The rules of weaning refer mainly to the gradual transition of piglets from the infant regime to the regime of weaned piglets, namely: providing additional fodder to piglets from 7-8 days of age so they can gradually increase intakes and become accustomed to solid feed, and reducing the number of milk feeds 4-5 days before weaning. Reducing access to suckling leads the piglets to consume additional feed in larger quantities.

This action is recommended as follows:
-5 days before weaning, 4-5 suckling opportunities;
-4 days before weaning, 3-4 suckling opportunities;
-3 days before weaning, 2-3 suckling opportunities;
-2 days before weaning, 1-2 suckling opportunities;
– one suckling allowed on the day of weaning.

The sow leaves but the piglets remain in the maternity ward for 5-10 days, depending on the technology that is applied. 2-3 days before weaning, the amount of feed administered to the sows is reduced, and on the day of weaning the sow does not receive feed, but only water ad libitum.

Colostrum management protocol for calves

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Calves are born with under developed immune systems; they have no antibodies to fight infection and so are very vulnerable to disease. Good colostrum management is of vital importance to the calf, especially where infection pressure is high. ZLTO has developed a colostrum management protocol – here are a few tips.

  • Milk the cow immediately after birth. The first colostrum is of the very best quality.
  • Measure the quality of the colostrum to determine the amount of antibodies using a colostrometer or hydrometer. Discard colostrum with quality <50 g/L. This gives you certainty about the amount of antibodies in the colostrum rather than guessing from appearance.
  • Make sure that the colostrum and feeding equipment is clean. Dirt contains bacteria and will reduce the effect of the antibodies in the colostrum.
  • Within 1 hour after birth, give the calf 4 litres (10% of body weight if known) of colostrum of around 40 degrees Celsius. The quicker the colostrum is given after birth the more antibodies the calf can absorb through its gut.
  • Preferably use a teat when administering colostrum. This provides a sucking reflex which stimulates the intestinal function.
  • Freeze remaining colostrum for reserves at a constant temperature of -18 degrees. Label colostrum with dam number and date and discard colostrum from Johnes positive cows.
  • The second milking for a second colostrum feed should take place 12 to 18 hours after birth to ensure that the calf has absorbed enough antibodies.
  • Discuss the colostrum protocol with the ZLTO advisor or your veterinarian.

Good colostrum management ensures a good start for the calf and means less disease, which reduces the need for use of antibiotics. Calves are the future of the herd and deserve care and attention.