Table 3 Overview of the investigated cow-level factors influencing colostrum quality. The 1,050 samples were collected from 72 dairy farmers from the federal district of Salzburg, Austria. The Brix% was evaluated in the diagnostic lab of the Clinical Centre for Ruminants and Camelid Medicine, Vienna by using a digital Brix refractometer. Additional information (herd-level factors) was gathered by an online questionnaire and an accompanying questionnaire
Cow-level Category | N total samples | Details | N samples | Brix ≤ 22% | Brix > 22% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N cows | N% | N cows | N% | ||||
Season of calving | 1,045 | Winter | 366 | 190 | 51.9% | 176 | 48.1% |
Spring | 216 | 109 | 50.5% | 107 | 49.5% | ||
Summer | 185 | 116 | 62.7% | 69 | 37.3% | ||
Autumn | 278 | 113 | 40.6% | 165 | 59.4% | ||
Time of calving | 1,041 | Day | 666 | 334 | 50.2% | 332 | 49.8% |
Night | 343 | 173 | 50.4% | 170 | 49.6% | ||
Lactation number | 1,024 | 1st lactation | 276 | 122 | 44.2% | 154 | 55.8% |
2nd lactation | 224 | 147 | 65.6% | 77 | 34.4% | ||
3rd lactation | 176 | 98 | 55.7% | 78 | 44.3% | ||
4th lactation | 115 | 57 | 49.6% | 58 | 50.4% | ||
5th lactation | 88 | 36 | 40.9% | 52 | 59.1% | ||
6th lactation | 62 | 25 | 40.3% | 37 | 59.7% | ||
> 6 lactations | 83 | 28 | 33.7% | 55 | 66.3% | ||
Dry period length | 1,013 | Primiparous | 276 | 122 | 44.2% | 154 | 55.8% |
< 8 weeks | 250 | 127 | 50.8% | 123 | 49.2% | ||
8 to 12 weeks | 439 | 245 | 55.8% | 194 | 44.2% | ||
> 12 weeks | 48 | 16 | 33.3% | 32 | 66.7% | ||
Dry off procedure | 994 | Primiparous cow | 273 | 123 | 45.1% | 150 | 54.9% |
Antibiotic treatment | 373 | 186 | 49.9% | 187 | 50.1% | ||
ITS | 153 | 74 | 48.4% | 79 | 51.6% | ||
No medication | 176 | 103 | 58.5% | 73 | 41.5% | ||
Others | 19 | 12 | 63.2% | 7 | 36.8% | ||
Disease during the dry period | 1,008 | Yes | 32 | 19 | 59.4% | 13 | 40.6% |
No | 968 | 477 | 49.3% | 491 | 50.7% | ||
Prophylaxis | 8 | 7 | 87.5% | 1 | 12.5% | ||
Colostrum leakage | 1,016 | Yes | 200 | 114 | 57.0% | 86 | 43.0% |
No | 816 | 394 | 48.3% | 422 | 51.7% | ||
Vaccination dam | 1,013 | Yes | 141 | 65 | 46.1% | 76 | 53.9% |
No | 872 | 444 | 50.9% | 428 | 49.1% | ||
Time to colostrum harvest | 1,010 | ≤ 120 min | 671 | 315 | 46.9% | 356 | 53.1% |
121 to 360Â min | 258 | 135 | 52.3% | 123 | 47.7% | ||
> 360 min | 81 | 59 | 72.8% | 22 | 27.2% | ||
Quantity colostrum harvest | 1,013 | 0 to 3Â L | 508 | 224 | 44.1% | 284 | 55.9% |
4 to 6Â L | 405 | 227 | 56.0% | 178 | 44.0% | ||
> 6 L | 100 | 58 | 58.0% | 42 | 42.0% | ||
Udder cleaning before colostrum harvest | 1,017 | Yes | 922 | 469 | 50.9% | 453 | 49.1% |
No | 95 | 41 | 43.2% | 54 | 56.8% | ||
Total plate counts | 667 | < 100,000 cfu/mL | 325 | 150 | 46.2% | 175 | 53.8% |
not assessable | 141 | 70 | 49.6% | 71 | 50.4% | ||
≥ 100,000 cfu/mL | 201 | 101 | 50.2% | 100 | 49.8% | ||
Coliform counts | 669 | < 10,000 cfu/mL | 576 | 274 | 47.6% | 302 | 52.4% |
not assessable | 53 | 25 | 47.2% | 28 | 52.8% | ||
≥ 10,000 cfu/mL | 40 | 23 | 57.5% | 17 | 42.5% | ||