Passive Transfer of Immunity and its Impact on Calf Health
Dairy calves are born with little to no immune defense, and receiving high-quality colostrum during the first few hours after birth is the first step to building that immune system. When a calf receives IgGs from colostrum, passive transfer of immunity occurs. Typically, if 4 liters (L) of high-quality colostrum (Brix % greater than 22) is fed within the first four hours of birth, passive transfer of immunity should be high (Blum and Hammon, 2000); this can detected with a blood test. Researchers have determined that there are four categories of passive transfer of immunity: excellent, good, fair, and poor (Lombard, 2020). A recent study published in the Journal of Dairy Science (Sutter, 2023) compared calf health parameters and average daily gain (ADG) to these categories.
This study focused on approximately 3400 calves from one farm that were fed 4 liters of high-quality colostrum within 30 minutes after birth using an esophageal tube feeder. The calves received another meal of 2 liters of colostrum 6 to 12 hours after the first feeding. They were tested for passive transfer of immunity 2 to 7 days after birth. No twins were included in this study. Calves were housed in individual pens for the first few days of life and then moved to group pens with 10 animals at three weeks of age. These group pens had a group calf feeder with 10 teats so that all calves were able to drink at once.
The results showed that 4.8% had a poor passive transfer of immunity, 29.5% had fair, 28.3% had good, and 37.4% had excellent. This may be surprising, as all of these calves received high-quality colostrum. The calves with poor passive transfer of immunity were more likely to catch pneumonia, have diarrhea, and had a higher mortality rate than those with excellent passive transfer of immunity. This makes sense, as these calves were unable to absorb the IgGs from colostrum and unable to begin building their immune system. Calves with excellent or good passive transfer of immunity had higher ADG than those with poor passive transfer of immunity.
This study indicated that more than just colostrum quality affects the passive transfer of immunity. Other factors include the lactation number of the dam, the specific employee feeding the colostrum, and the calving ease of the delivery. The calves born to dams in their third or greater lactation had lower passive transfer of immunity. Unsurprisingly, cows who experienced dystocia and needed assistance during labor had calves with lower passive immunity transfer.
This study can remind us of the importance of good management practices. As seen in this study, specific employees can have an impact on the passive transfer of immunity. This indicates that it is essential to train employees and regularly check that they follow procedures correctly. This study also shows that it is necessary to try to prevent dystocia. One way this could be done is to breed cows to bulls with a high calving ease score. This can also be achieved by ensuring heifers are of the right size and maturity when they calve. Ideally, heifers should be bred to calve at 22 to 24 months of age, putting Holsteins at around 1200 pounds and Jerseys at about 850 pounds (Jones and Heinrichs, 2022). Animals should calve in at a body condition score of 3.5, ensuring they have weight to lose when they enter a negative energy balance and begin producing milk (Heinrichs et al., 2023).
One thing that is not brought up in this study but is still important to remember is that high-quality colostrum is only high quality if it does not contain large amounts of bacteria. Colostrum should be collected in a sanitized container and fed from a bottle that has undergone proper sanitation. Colostrum that is not fed immediately needs to be refrigerated to stop the growth of bacteria. If left at room temperature, the bacteria content in the colostrum will continue to double every 20 minutes. The calf can easily absorb bacteria in the same route that IgGs get absorbed, compromising that calf’s health.
To set up a calf to become a productive cow, a properly trained employee should feed high-quality colostrum within a few hours after birth. Ensure that good management practices are clearly established and followed by all employees. Remember to monitor herd health and nutrition to reduce dystocia in freshening animals, which can impact colostrum quality.
References:
Blum, J. W., and H Hammon. 2000. Colostrum effects on the gastrointestinal tract, and nutritional, endocrine and metabolic parameters in neonatal calves. Livest. Prod. 66:151-159.
Heinrichs, J., C. M. Jones, V. A. Ishler. 2023. Body Condition Scoring as a Tool for Dairy Herd Management. Penn State Extension Dairy Digest.
Jones, C. M., and J. Heinrichs. 2022. Growth Charts for Dairy Heifers. Penn State Extension Dairy Digest.
Lombard, J., N, Urie, F. Garry, S. Godden, J. Quigley, T. Earleywine, S. McGuirk, D. Moore, M. Branan, M. Chamorro, G. Smith, C. Shivley, D. Catherman, D. Haines, A. J. Heinrichs, R. James, J. Maas and K. Sterner. 2020. Consensus recommendations on calf- and herd-level passive immunity in dairy calves in the United States. J. Dairy Sci. 103: 7611-7624.
Sutter, F., P. L. Venjakob, W. Heuwieser, and S. Borchardt. 2023. Association between transfer of passive immunity, health, and performance of female dairy calves from birth to weaning. J. Dairy Sci. 106:7043-7055.
