Comparative Analysis of Maternal Colostrum and Colostrum Replacer Effects on Immunity, Growth, and Health of Japanese Black Calves

Abstract

Maternal colostrum (MC) is an important source of nutrients and immune factors for newborn calves. However, when colostrum is unavailable or of poor quality, a colostrum replacer (CR) may be a suitable alternative to MC. As stock-raising farmers must make informed decisions about colostrum feeding management, this study was conducted to determine the effect of feeding MC versus CR on the promotion of immunological status, growth, and health in pre-weaned Japanese black (JB) calves. Sixteen newborn JB calves were fed MC after birth, and 16 JB calves were fed CR. For the MC group, the numbers of γδ T cells, CD4+ cells, CD8+ cells, CD4+CD8+ cells, B cells, and MHC class II+ cells were significantly higher compared with the CR group. Furthermore, the expression levels of interleukin (IL)-1β-, IL-2-, and interferon-γ (IFN-γ)-encoding mRNAs were significantly higher in the MC group compared with the CR group. A lower incidence of disease in 1-month-old calves and higher carcass weight in the MC group were observed compared with the CR group. These results suggest that CR activates the immune system delayed in calves compared with MC. MC increases populations of various immunocompetent cells, which can reduce infection rates and improve body weight gain.

A Comprehensive Review of Bovine Colostrum Components and Selected Aspects Regarding Their Impact on Neonatal Calf Physiology

“…Immunoglobulins, particularly IgG, are the most well-studied bioactive compounds, as colostrum quality is usually defined by its concentration in IgG [17][18][19][20]. However, calves that were fed maternal colostrum instead of colostrum replacer (which has a defined concentration of IgG) showed improved immunocompetence and higher body gains [21], which demonstrates the importance of the whole colostrum matrix for calf wellbeing. The nutritional value and other bioactive components of BC have received less attention from the academic community.…”