Colostrum-supplemented transition milk positively affects serum biochemical parameters, humoral immunity indicators and the growth performance of calves

Highlights • Transition milk supplementation with colostrum improves calves growth. • Extending colostrum feeding period positively affected multiple blood variables. • Supplemented calves had lower disease incidence.
The aim of this study was to determine the effect of colostrum-supplemented transition milk on the growth rate of newborn calves. Thirty-six day-old female Holstein calves with a birth weight of 43.4 ± 5.5 kg were randomly assigned to a treatment group and a control group. On day 1, all calves received one portion (3 kg) of colostrum within 2 h after birth. Between the second feeding and the age of 5 days, control calves received only transition milk that had been collected from dams shortly before feeding, and the treatment group received 1.5 kg of colostrum collected from dams on day 1 and 1.5 kg of transition milk from subsequent milkings. Monthly body weight and average daily gain were used to measure growth performance. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein at multiple time points to evaluate the biochemical and immune status of calves. Colostrum-supplemented transition milk increased the concentrations of serum immunoglobulins, triacylglycerols, cholesterol and total protein. The activity of lactate-dehydrogenase and ceruloplasmin decreased, whereas lysozyme activity increased with time in the control group. It can be concluded that additional five days of colostrum feeding positively influences non-specific humoral immunity indicators and serum biochemical parameters in dairy calves.