Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T16:10:07.700Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The effect of colostrum period management on BW and immune system in lambs: from birth to weaning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 July 2015

L. E. Hernández-Castellano
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35413 Arucas, Gran Canaria, Spain Veterinary Physiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bremgartenstrasse 109a, CH-3001 Bern, Switzerland
A. Suárez-Trujillo
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35413 Arucas, Gran Canaria, Spain
D. Martell-Jaizme
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35413 Arucas, Gran Canaria, Spain
G. Cugno
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35413 Arucas, Gran Canaria, Spain
A. Argüello
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35413 Arucas, Gran Canaria, Spain
N. Castro*
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35413 Arucas, Gran Canaria, Spain
*
Get access

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the BW and immune status of lambs reared under natural conditions or under artificial conditions fed two different colostrum amounts. In this study, 60 lambs were randomly divided into groups according to treatment. Twenty lambs remained with their dams (natural rearing (NR) group). Forty lambs were removed from their dams at birth. Lambs were bottle-fed with a pool of sheep colostrum, receiving either 4 g of IgG/kg of BW at birth (C4 group) or 8 g of IgG/kg of BW at birth (C8 group). The total colostrum amount was equally divided into three meals at 2, 14 and 24 h after birth. After this period, lambs were bottle-fed a commercial milk replacer. Blood plasma sample analysis and BW recordings were carried out before feeding at birth and then at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 20 days after birth. Another blood sample analysis and BW recording was carried out when animals reached 10 kg of BW. During weaning (30 days), sampling was carried out every 5 days. Blood plasma was used to determine the concentrations of IgG and IgM and the complement system activity – total and alternative pathways. The NR group showed greater BW than the C4 and C8 groups during milk feeding period, whereas the C4 and C8 groups had greater BW than the NR group at the end of weaning period. The C8 and NR groups had greater plasma IgG and IgM concentrations than the C4 group during milk feeding period. In addition, C4 and C8 groups showed similar IgG concentrations and greater IgM concentrations than the NR group at the end of the weaning period. Complement system activity was greater in the NR group than in the C4 and C8 groups during the first 3 days after birth. In conclusion, lambs fed amounts of colostrum equivalent to 8 g of IgG/kg of BW showed similar immune variables compared to lambs reared under natural conditions, obtaining a greater BW at the end of the weaning period. Nevertheless, this study shows that not only the colostrum amount but also the management during the milk feeding and weaning period, such as stress produced by dam separation, milk quality and suckling frequency, can affect the final immune status of lambs.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abdou, H, Marichatou, H, Beckers, J-F, Dufrasne, I and Hornick, J-L 2014. Effect of bovine colostrum administration on plasma protein profile, growth, and survival in Red kid. Small Ruminant Research 117, 158164.Google Scholar
Ahmad, R, Khan, A, Javed, MT and Hussain, I 2000. The level of immunoglobulins in relation to neonatal lamb mortality in Pak-Karakul sheep. Veterinarski Arhiv 70, 129139.Google Scholar
al-Sabbagh, TA, Swanson, LV and Thompson, JM 1995. The effect of ewe body condition at lambing on colostral immunoglobulin G concentration and lamb performance. Journal of Animal Science 73, 28602864.Google Scholar
Argüello, A, Castro, N, Capote, J, Tyler, JW and Holloway, NM 2004. Effect of colostrum administration practices on serum IgG in goat kids. Livestock Production Science 90, 235239.Google Scholar
Argüello, A, Castro, N, Capote, J, Gines, R, Acosta, F and Lopez, JL 2003. Effects of refrigeration, freezing-thawing and pasteurization on IgG goat colostrum preservation. Small Ruminant Research 48, 135139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bendixen, E, Danielsen, M, Hollung, K, Gianazza, E and Miller, I 2011. Farm animal proteomics – a review. Journal of Proteomics 74, 282293.Google Scholar
Brujeni, GN, Jani, SS, Alidadi, N, Tabatabaei, S, Sharifi, H and Mohri, M 2010. Passive immune transfer in fat-tailed sheep: evaluation with different methods. Small Ruminant Research 90, 146149.Google Scholar
Castro, N, Capote, J, Alvarez, S and Arguello, A 2005. Effects of lyophilized colostrum and different colostrum feeding regimens on passive transfer of immunoglobulin g in Majorera goat kids. Journal of Dairy Science 88, 36503654.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Castro, N, Capote, J, Bruckmaier, RM and Arguello, A 2011. Management effects on colostrogenesis in small ruminants: a review. Journal of Applied Animal Research 39, 8593.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Castro, N, Acosta, F, Nino, T, Vivas, J, Quesada, E, Capote, J and Arguello, A 2008. The effects of diet and age on serum complement system activity in goat kids. Livestock Science 119, 102106.Google Scholar
Christley, RM, Morgan, KL, Parkin, TDH and French, NP 2003. Factors related to the risk of neonatal mortality, birth-weight and serum immunoglobulin concentration in lambs in the UK. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 57, 209226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ciupersescu, DD 1977. Dynamics of serum immunoglobulin concentrations in sheep during pregnancy and lactation. Research in Veterinary Science 22, 2327.Google Scholar
da Nobrega, JE, Riet-Correa, F, Nobrega, RS, de Medeiros, JM, de Vasconcelos, JS, Simoes, SVD and Tabosa, IM 2005. Perinatal mortality of lambs in the semi-arid region of Paraiba, Brazil. Pesquisa Veterinaria Brasileira 25, 171178.Google Scholar
David, I, Bouvier, F, Ricard, E, Ruesche, J and Weisbecker, J-L 2014. Feeding behaviour of artificially reared Romane lambs. Animal 8, 982990.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Demiroren, E, Shrestha, JNB and Boylan, WJ 1995. Breed and environmental effects on components of ewe productivity in terms of multiple births, artificial rearing and 8-month breeding cycles. Small Ruminant Research 16, 239249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ehrenstein, MR and Notley, CA 2010. The importance of natural IgM: scavenger, protector and regulator. Nature Reviews Immunology 10, 778786.Google Scholar
Emsen, E, Yaprak, M, Bilgin, OC, Emsen, B and Ockerman, HW 2004. Growth performance of Awassi lambs fed calf milk replacer. Small Ruminant Research 53, 99102.Google Scholar
Firat, A, Ozpinar, A and Erhard, MH 2003. Serum immunoglobulin G levels in lambs fed colostrum and dam milk or cow milk after birth. In The 11th International Symposium of the World Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians and OIE Seminars on Biotechnology (ed. R. Thanawongnuwech and P. Ingkaninun), pp 2425. The Thai Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Bangkok, Thailand.Google Scholar
Halliday, R and Williams, MR 1979. Absorption of imunoglobulin from colostrum by bottle-fed lambs. Annales de Recherches Veterinaires 10, 549556.Google Scholar
Hernández-Castellano, LE, Almeida, AM, Castro, N and Argüello, A 2014a. The colostrum proteome, ruminant nutrition and immunity: a review. Current Protein and Peptide Science 15, 6474.Google Scholar
Hernández-Castellano, LE, Argüello, A, Almeida, AM, Castro, N and Bendixen, E 2015a. Colostrum protein uptake in neonatal lambs examined by descriptive and quantitative liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Journal of Dairy Science 98, 135147.Google Scholar
Hernández-Castellano, LE, Almeida, AM, Ventosa, M, Coelho, AV, Castro, N and Argüello, A 2014b. The effect of colostrum intake on blood plasma proteome profile in newborn lambs: low abundance proteins. BMC Veterinary Research 10, 85.Google Scholar
Hernández-Castellano, LE, Morales-delaNuez, A, Sánchez-Macías, D, Moreno-Indias, I, Torres, A, Capote, J, Argüello, A and Castro, N 2015b. The effect of colostrum source (goat vs. sheep) and timing of the first colostrum feeding (2 h vs. 14 h after birth) on body weight and immune status of artificially reared newborn lambs. Journal of Dairy Science 98, 204210.Google Scholar
Hernández-Castellano, LE, Moreno-Indias, I, Morales-delaNuez, A, Sánchez-Macías, D, Torres, A, Capote, J, Argüello, A and Castro, N 2015c. The effect of milk source on body weight and immune status of lambs. Livestock Science 175, 7076.Google Scholar
Holloway, NM, Tyler, JW, Lakritz, J, Carlson, SL, Tessman, RK and Holle, J 2002. Serum immunoglobulin G concentrations in calves fed fresh colostrum or a colostrum supplement. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 16, 187191.Google Scholar
Lérias, JR, Hernández-Castellano, LE, Suárez-Trujillo, A, Castro, N, Pourlis, A and Almeida, AM 2014. The mammary gland in small ruminants: major morphological and functional events underlying milk production – a review. Journal of Dairy Research 81, 304318.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Matos-Gomes, N, Katsurayama, M, Makimoto, FH, Santana, LLO, Paredes-Garcia, E, Becker, MAD and Dos-Santos, MC 2010. Psychological stress and its influence on salivary flow rate, total protein concentration and IgA, IgG and IgM titers. Neuroimmunomodulation 17, 396404.Google Scholar
Morales-delaNuez, A, Castro, N, Moreno-Indias, I, Juste, MC, Sánchez-Macías, D, Briggs, H, Capote, J and Argüello, A 2009. Effects of a reputed immunostimulant on the innate immune system of goat kids. Small Ruminant Research 85, 2326.Google Scholar
Moreno-Indias, I, Morales-delaNuez, A, Hernandez-Castellano, LE, Sanchez-Macias, D, Capote, J, Castro, N and Arguello, A 2012. Docosahexaenoic acid in the goat kid diet: effects on immune system and meat quality. Journal of Animal Science 90, 37293738.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moretti, DB, Kindlein, L, Pauletti, P and Machado-Neto, R 2010. IgG absorption by Santa Ines lambs fed Holstein bovine colostrum or Santa Ines ovine colostrum. Animal 4, 933937.Google Scholar
Muller, LD and Ellinger, DK 1981. Colostral immunoglobulin concentrations among breeds of dairy-cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 64, 17271730.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Murphy, TA, Loerch, SC, McClure, KE and Solomon, MB 1994. Effects of restricted feeding on growth performance and carcass composition of lambs. Journal of Animal Science 72, 31313137.Google Scholar
Napolitano, F, Pacelli, C, Girolami, A and Braghieri, A 2008. Effect of information about animal welfare on consumer willingness to pay for yogurt. Journal of Dairy Science 91, 910917.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Napolitano, F, Cifuni, GF, Pacelli, C, Riviezzi, AM and Girolami, A 2002. Effect of artificial rearing on lamb welfare and meat quality. Meat Science 60, 307315.Google Scholar
Nonnecke, BJ, Waters, WR, Goff, JP and Foote, MR 2012. Adaptive immunity in the colostrum-deprived calf: response to early vaccination with Mycobacterium bovis strain bacille Calmette Guerin and ovalbumin. Journal of Dairy Science 95, 221239.Google Scholar
Nowak, R and Poindron, P 2006. From birth to colostrum: early steps leading to lamb survival. Reproduction Nutrition Development 46, 431446.Google Scholar
O’Doherty, JV and Crosby, TF 1997. The effect of diet in late pregnancy on colostrum production and immunoglobulin absorption in sheep. Journal of Animal Science 64, 8796.Google Scholar
Ontsouka, CE, Bruckmaier, RM and Blum, JW 2003. Fractionized milk composition during removal of colostrum and mature milk. Journal of Dairy Science 86, 20052011.Google Scholar
Oswald, IP, Lantier, F and Bourgy, G 1990. Classical and alternative pathway hemolytic activities of ovine complement – variations with age and sex. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology 24, 259266.Google Scholar
Quigley, JD, French, P and James, RE 2000. Effect of pH on absorption of immunoglobulin G in neonatal calves. Journal of Dairy Science 83, 18531855.Google Scholar
Quigley, JD 3rd, Kost, CJ and Wolfe, TM 2002. Absorption of protein and IgG in calves fed a colostrum supplement or replacer. Journal of Dairy Science 85, 12431248.Google Scholar
Ramírez-Santana, C, Pérez-Cano, FJ, Audí, C, Castell, M, Moretones, MG, López-Sabater, MC, Castellote, C and Franch, A 2012. Effects of cooling and freezing storage on the stability of bioactive factors in human colostrum. Journal of Dairy Science 95, 23192325.Google Scholar
Rodríguez, C, Castro, N, Capote, J, Morales-delaNuez, A, Moreno-Indias, I, Sanchez-Macias, D and Arguello, A 2009. Effect of colostrum immunoglobulin concentration on immunity in Majorera goat kids. Journal of Dairy Science 92, 16961701.Google Scholar
Smith, GW and Foster, DM 2007. Short communication: absorption of protein and immunoglobulin G in calves Fed a colostrum replacer. Journal of Dairy Science 90, 29052908.Google Scholar
Trujillo, AJ, Castro, N, Quevedo, JM, Arguello, A, Capote, J and Guamis, B 2007. Effect of heat and high-pressure treatments on microbiological quality and immunoglobulin G stability of caprine colostrum. Journal of Dairy Science 90, 833839.Google Scholar
Wheeler, TT, Hodgkinson, AJ, Prosser, CG and Davis, SR 2007. Immune components of colostrum and milk – a historical perspective. Journal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia 12, 237247.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Winter, A 2011. Bovine neonatal pancytopenia, and anaemia in lambs caused by feeding cow colostrum. Veterinary Record 168, 8484.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Supplementary material: File

Hernández-Castellano supplementary material S1

Supplemental Table

Download Hernández-Castellano supplementary material S1(File)
File 27.3 KB
Supplementary material: File

Hernández-Castellano supplementary material S2

Supplementary Table

Download Hernández-Castellano supplementary material S2(File)
File 26.4 KB