PSVII-25 - Amount of colostrum feeding impacts performance and potential colostrum biomarkers at arrival at the rearing facility in unweaned male dairy beef calves

Eighty-two newborn unweaned Holstein bull calves (43.3 ± 0.86 kg) were used to evaluate the effect of the amount of colostrum feeding on performance and potential colostrum feeding on serum biomarkers. Immediately after calves were born, calves were randomly distributed to well colostrated treatment (WC; n = 49) where calves were fed 4 L of colostrum in less than 2 h after birth and 2 L of colostrum in each of the following 3 feedings; or poor colostrated (PC; n = 33) where calves were fed 2 L of colostrum only once in less than 2 h after birth. At d 14 of age calves were submitted to an assembly center situation for 4 d and transported for 19 h to the rearing farm. Forty-eight hours and 18 d after birth a blood sample was collected to analyze alkaline phosphatase (ALP), cholesterol (CHO), and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT). Calves were weighed (BW) after birth, before transport and at arrival. Data were analyzed using mixed models. At 48 h, serum concentration of ALP, GGT were greater (P < 0.05) for WC compared with PC calves, showing that the difference in the amount of colostrum applied as a treatment was successful. The BW losses from birth to arrival were greater for PC calves (-2.3 ± 0.41 kg) compared with WC calves (-0.02 ± 0.41 kg). Shrink during transport did not differ between treatments. At arrival (d 18) no differences on serum ALP or CHO were observed. However, serum concentration of GGT was greater (P < 0.01) for WC calves compared with PC calves (127.2 ± 9.09 U/L and 55.7 ± 8.95 U/L, respectively). Increasing the amount of colostrum fed to the calves reduces the postnatal weight losses and GGT might be an indicator of colostrum feeding at arrival in calves of 18 d of age.