DocTalk Ep 661 - Colostrum and the Newborn Calf

We are back with the first episode of DocTalk in 2025! In this episode, Dr. Dan Thomson meets up with Dr. Nora Schrag, a veterinarian in Manhattan, Kansas to discuss colostrum, how to get it, how to use it and how to make sure it's working.
Dr. Schrag will discuss the importance of the first milking and how the colostrum is essentially the immune system for the first 30 days in a calf. She also touches on how vital the timing is for the first milk. They will cover how to properly milk the colostrum out of the cow, which cow to pick out of the herd and how to correctly store any excess. Dr. Dan brings up the similarities and differences of supplements and replacers and which options are most beneficial. To wrap up, they will hit on how to test if the calves are receiving enough colostrum and how to respond properly to the results of these tests.

[@dhukill1]

I just assumed you’d need to get the colostrum from the cow that just calved.