Research Information System
ACTA VETERINARIA BRNO, vol.93, 2025 (SCI-Expanded)
Colostrum plays a crucial role in the passive transfer of immunity (PTI) in calves. The quality and quantity of colostrum have a significant impact on PTI. The objective of this study was to assess the quality of colostrum on dairy farms of different sizes. Atotal of 660 colostrum samples were obtained from 28 farms in 11 provinces in T & uuml;rkiye. The colostrum samples were divided into five groups according to dairy farms size: Group I (1-100, n = 26), Group II(101-200, n = 37), Group III (201-500, n = 200), Group IV (501-1000, n = 235), Group V (> 1000, n = 162). Colostrum quality was assessed by a Brix refractometer (<= 22% indicates poor quality colostrum) and evaluated statistically. The mean colostrum Brix% was 27.74 f 0.14. The Brix% in Groups I-V were 24.04 f 0.72, 25.70 f 0.93, 28.11 f 0.26, 28.46 f 0.23 and 27.30 f 0.21, respectively. The rate of poor quality colostrum for the total of 660 cows was 8.03%, for Groups I-V it was 34.61%, 29.72%, 6.0%, 5.53% and 4.93%, respectively. The rates of primiparity for Groups I-V were 65.38%, 54.05%, 49.0%, 35.31% and 43.2%, respectively. The colostrum Brix% was significantly (P = 0.014) lower in primiparous cows (27.08 f 0.23) than in multiparous cows (28.25 f 0.18). The highest rate of poor quality of colostrum was found in Groups Iand II. This situation on small farms may be due to inadequate management and feeding.