Colostrum is the first milk
produced by the doe after birth. It is much thicker than subsequent milking
with a yellowish colour. It tends to be
much higher in protein, vitamins and minerals than regular milk and provides an
extremely high nutrient diet to the newborn kid. But it’s the immunoglobulins that are the
most important component of colostrum. At
birth, kids have virtually no immunity to pathogens present in its new environment. However, the immunoglobulins present in high
quality colostrum can provide passive immunity.
The doe produces immunoglobulins to protect itself from any diseases it
has been exposed to. Therefore if the
doe is moved to the nursery area a number of weeks before kidding, it should
develop immunoglobulins against any pathogens in the area and pass these to the
newborn kid in the colostrum. This also
means that kids should only be fed colostrum sourced on their own farm. This will prevent possible transmission of
infection (CAE, Johnes) from other farms.
In order to maximise immunity the doe should also be vaccinated against
clostridial diseases approximately four weeks before kidding.
There are three keys to feeding
colostrum:
1.
Feed colostrum as soon as possible after birth.
At birth the intestine of the kid
is not mature and can absorb the large immunoglobulin proteins, but this
capability diminishes rapidly (gut closure) and is virtually gone after 24
hours. In addition, the kid begins to produce digestive enzymes shortly after
birth which can break down the immunoglobulins and destroying their ability to
prevent disease. However due to its very
high nutritional value, there may still be some benefit in feeding colostrum
for a number of days where available.
2.
Feed approximately 1 litre
Most literature proposes that a
kid should receive 10% of its bodyweight in colostrum in the first 24 hours. However the more colostrum a kid receives, the
more antibodies and high energy nutrition it also receives. Therefore work to the rule of feeding the kid
about 50mls of colostrum per kg of bodyweight every 4 hours. For a 4kg kid this is 200ml every 4 hours and
will provide at least 1 litre in the first 24 hours after birth.
3.
Feed high quality colostrum
The concentration of
immunoglobulins in the colostrum diminishes rapidly after birth, therefore the
sooner it is harvested from the doe, the better. In addition, the udder begins to ‘bag up’
with milk after birth and this dilutes the effect of the colostrum.
If you are lucky enough to have
colostrum that is surplus to your requirements, then it may be stored for
future use. It should be refrigerated immediately
and stored for up to two days. Alternatively
it can be frozen for up to a year. Place
in small quantities in ice cube trays and move to zip lock bags once
frozen. Larger quantities can again be
stored in zip lock bags, but remember to allow space for expansion and it is
always a good idea to double bag in case the first punctures. It should be thawed gently in a warm water
bath in order to protect the immunoglobulins – if the water is too hot to put
your hand into, it’s too hot for the colostrum.
If there is simply no goat colostrum
available then there may be no alternative but to feed cow colostrum. Ideally this should be sourced on the same
farm, but this may not be possible. Therefore obtain it from healthy, disease free
animals to prevent importing diseases, particularly Johnes Disease. It would also be hugely beneficial if the
cows were vaccinated against clostridial diseases.
