Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
ANKARA UNIVERSITESI VETERINER FAKULTESI DERGISI, cilt.60, sa.2, ss.85-88, 2013 (SCI-Expanded)
The minimisation of neonatal mortality is critical for the success of an animal management programme. The period between calving and weaning is the most crucial period in the animal's life. A major management tool that could be used to reduce health problems in calves is feeding with colostrum. Colostrum is rich in energy, protein and vitamins (especially vitamins A, D, E and B12). Most importantly, colostrum is essential for newborns, in that it contains high levels of immunoglobulins, which transfer passive immunity to the calf, and thereby, enable it to fight with infections. The aim of the present study was to determine the correlation between serum Ig G levels and routine biochemical parameters in neonatal Holstein calves given colostrum with teat buckets separated soon after calving. For this purpose, serum was extracted from blood samples collected from 79 calves within 24-48 hours of calving. The passive transfer status of the calves was determined by measuring the Ig G content of serum by ELISA. Based on their serum Ig G levels, the calves were divided into 3 groups (insufficient n=13; partial n=14; and normal passive transfer n=52). Serum ALT, AST, GGT, ALP, LDH activities and serum BUN, creatinine, albumin, total protein, total bilirubin, triglyceride, cholesterol, and glucose levels were analysed. A statistically significant increase was determined in the serum GGT activity and total protein and urea levels of calves with normal passive immunity transfer by colostrum, compared to the other passive transfer groups (p<0.05). Even though slight differences were observed between groups regarding the remaining biochemical parameters, there is no significant differences were observed between the passive transfer groups for the other assayed parameters (p>0.05). In conclusion, these results showed that total protein and BUN levels in combination with the serum-GGT activity as a reliable criterion for the determination of passive transfer status can be used in newborn calves.