Care needed with supplementary colostrum to avoid ‘unintended consequences’

With main lambing season fast approaching, new on-farm research is highlighting the serious ‘unintended consequences’ of poor colostrum storage and equipment hygiene.

The research was carried out during last year’s lambing on a typical commercial flock by the University of Glasgow, funded by Monitor Farm Scotland and Livestock Health Scotland. It discovered that 80% of the farm’s supplementary colostrum tested failed total bacterial count tests.

High bacterial counts cause a number of serious issues, explains researcher Ali Haggerty, a vet with The Stewartry Veterinary Centre in Castle Douglas, Dumfriesshire. “Lambs have no antibodies of their own at birth and are reliant on the transfer of antibodies from maternal colostrum across the gut to gain immunity to disease in the first few weeks of life.

“Bacteria can inhibit the transfer of passive immunity to the lamb, can break up the antibodies in colostrum rendering them ineffective, and block the uptake of antibodies across the lamb’s gut. They can also damage the gut itself meaning antibodies can no longer cross, and, of course, can cause disease in their own right.”

When looking at coliforms, the bugs that can be particularly responsible for the deleterious effects on colostrum and are associated with faecal contamination, the research found 60% of samples on farm exceeded acceptable thresholds.

While the results may seem shocking, bacteria can quickly multiply, she explains. “Bacteria grow exponentially and can double their population very, very rapidly. Colostrum left at ambient temperature—like you might find sitting in a container or feeding equipment in the lambing shed while you're busy working around the pens—offers both the optimal temperature and nutrients that speeds up bacterial growth by shortening their doubling time.

“As an example, bacteria like E.coli can have a generation time of 20-30 minutes, so if we start with, say 1,000 bacteria, the population could increase to 2,000 in 20 minutes, 4,000 in 40 minutes and 8,000 in an hour and so on,” she adds.

“The critical message for anyone lambing is that these results indicate that where colostrum has not been stored correctly, and/or equipment is not properly cleaned, giving supplementary colostrum to lambs has potential to cause more harm than good,” warns Ali. “However, some samples on-farm were impressively clean with very low counts, showing that achieving clean samples is possible.”

The aim should be to minimise the number of lambs routinely supplemented with colostrum, and to suckle ewes directly as this can be a hygienic option (a reminder about routinely bedding lambing pens!), as well as improving the crucial maternal bond, she says.

“However, this is not always possible, so use time pre-lambing to review your colostrum storage and equipment hygiene protocols so it can be done consistently well, even at the height of lambing.”

Colostrum storage and equipment hygiene checklist:

· Check all equipment for any damage, as perishing areas can harbour bacteria as well as harming lambs’ throats.

· Before lambing and after every use (or as near as possible in a hectic lambing), clean all storage and feeding equipment thoroughly with a scrubbing brush, detergent and hot water and then disinfect. Ensure all the fatty milk/colostrum deposits are removed as these harbour bacteria. Also keep disinfectant fresh and clean – organic matter deactivates it, and it can become a ‘bacterial soup’.

· Purchase multiple feeders to allow for thorough cleaning after every use.

· Chill colostrum at 4°C (for up to 24 hours) if not fed immediately to prevent bacterial proliferation.

· Alternatively freeze excess colostrum at -20°C for up to six months. Thaw in a warm water bath at 30-40°C before feeding.

· Ewe colostrum is always best for supplementation if can be handled appropriately – used quickly or frozen promptly after collection and defrosting in a warm water bath.

· Consideration could be given to a good quality colostrum replacer that can be made up as required, as opposed to prolonged colostrum storage at room temperature. All mixing equipment must be thoroughly cleaned every time.

Setting up a ‘lambing shed kitchen’ is one way to make colostrum management and hygiene easier and more consistent during lambing, she says.

“Ideally, this would include instant hot water, electric, space to work, a sink and the required detergents such as basic washing up liquid, a disinfectant, and appropriate bottle brushes and so on.”

A working fridge is an important part of the ‘kitchen’ as bacteria multiply very quickly in ambient temperatures; it must chill at a consistent 4°C. Colostrum should be stored in a covered or sealed container to minimise contamination with organic matter.

The research, funded by Monitor Farm Scotland and Livestock Health Scotland, was conducted by vet Ali Haggerty, The Stewartry Veterinary Centre, Castle Douglas, and Katharine Denholm and Kim Hamer, farm animal clinicians at the School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow. The Monitor Farm Scotland programme is managed by Quality Meat Scotland and fully funded by Scottish Government.