The importance of colostrum for dairy calves

Ingestion and absorption of colostrum is essential to the health and thrive of neonatal ruminants . Calves are born profoundly agammaglobulinemic, making them susceptible to infection . Consequently, calves rely on early consumption of colostrum to acquire Igs (Godden, 2008) . Bovine colostrum also contains maternal leukocytes, cytokines and growth factors and nutrients (e .g . fat, vitamins and minerals; Foley and Otterby, 1978). Recent studies also have demonstrated that colostrum have a positive impact on the establishment and development of the gut microbial communities (Malmuthuge et al ., 2015) . In addition to the positive effects of colostrum on the newborn calves, there is growing evidence suggesting that colostrum also benefits the productivity of the future cow (DeNise et al ., 1989). This review aims to describe our current knowledge regarding the benefits of maintain an adequate colostrum management protocol in dairy calves .