Identification of factors affecting colostrum quality of dairy Lacaune ewes assessed with the Brix refractometer

Abstract

In this Research Communication we assessed factors affecting colostrum quality of dairy Lacaune ewes using the Brix-refractometer. Colostrum from 536 lambings from one commercial intensive dairy Lacaune farm were analysed for the following factors with potential influence in colostrum quality: (1) ewe parity (n = 84-132), (2) length of previous dry period (PDP) (n = 23-214), (3) age at first lambing (AFL) of primiparous ewes (n = 9-88), (4) lambing season (n = 192 or 344), and (5) year (2011-2013, n = 142-203). Parity significantly affected colostrum quality, with primiparous ewes showing the highest Brix refractometer values (22·6 ± 5·6%, P < 0·0001), though values were similar among multiparous ewes. PDP length also significantly affected colostrum quality: ewes with the shortest PDP showed the worst quality (16·8 ± 4·2%, P < 0·0001), with quality gradually rising with PDP length. Colostrum quality was significantly higher in 2011 (21·0 ± 5·2%) than in 2012 or 2013 (P < 0·0001); this likely reflects the several-fold greater proportion of animals with long PDP in 2011. In contrast, neither AFL nor lambing season significantly affected colostrum quality. These results suggest that parity and PDP length can substantially affect ovine colostrum quality of dairy ewes under intensive management conditions and they further show the usefulness of the Brix refractometer for providing a rough estimation of colostrum quality on-farm. However, further studies are needed to determine a validated cut-off Brix value for identifying good-quality colostra in ovine species.

Validation of Brix refractometer to estimate immunoglobulin G concentration in goat colostrum

“…Heating colostrum may be necessary for preventing the transmission of pathological agents from mother to kids. A previous study in ewes have shown, several factors affect colostrum quality, including parity, length of the dry period, age at first lambing of primiparous ewes, lambing season, and year [9]. Management of colostrum (such as heat treatment) may also affect its quality.…”

Evaluation of passive transfer in goat kids with Brix refractometer and comparison with other semiquantitative tests

“…Brix refractometry is not as widely studied in small ruminants as in cattle. Torres-Rovira et al [23] studied Brix refractometry in sheep. Recent studies with Brix refractometry conducted in goat kids [24] and goat colostrum [25] indicated that Brix refractometry could potentially be used as an on-farm tool for estimating PT of immunity and colostrum quality status of goats.…”

Editorial: A year of contrasts

“…Along the way we have three papers that deal in one way or another with wellbeing assessment in dairy animals, papers that consider different aspects of metabolism at whole animal and cellular levels and papers that document various genomic influences on production traits in cattle and buffalo. The quality of the raw product features in three papers, commencing logically enough with colostrum (in sheep: Torres-Rovira et al 2017) and then moving on to practical aspects related first to seasonality and then to milking frequency. We will come to the processed product shortly, but first I want to draw particular attention to this last paper, a Swedish/Welsh collaboration that focuses on changes in milk fatty acid composition (Ferneborg et al 2017).…”