Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production.
1990, 50: 275-278
Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production.
1990, 50: 275-278
Thirty previously unsuckled Coopworth and Corriedale lambs were bottle fed fresh colostrum at 60, 135, 210 or 285 ml/kg birth weight 24 hr in equal feeds at 2 or 4 hour intervals from birth to 30 hours after birth. IgG in serum was measured before first feeding and then at 8 hour intervals to 32 hours after first feeding by ZnSO4 turbidity. Prior to feeding mean serum IgG concentration of the lambs was 0.41±0.13 g.l -1. IgG concentration increased linearly with increasing colostrum consumption up to 210 ml colostrum kg birth weight. A relationship between lamb serum IgG concentration and the volume of colostrum consumed was determined by linear calibration.
This technique was applied in the field to estimate the colostrum intake of 104 lambs aged between 16 and 32 hours. On the basis of a 95% confidence interval for the relationship between serum IgG concentration and colostrum intake it was found that a significant proportion (0.16) of the lambs received less than 210 ml/kg birth weight/24 hr of colostrum, a level insufficient for metabolic needs.
These results indicate underfed lambs can be identified by the concentration of IgG in their serum 16 hours after birth.
Keywords: NZSAPAB; Colostrum; immunoglobulin; energy; lamb survival; linear calibration
