The ImmunIGY Bovine IgG test is a new novel test to assess the effectiveness of your colostrum protocols. Calves are born without any anti-bodies, the key to protection from disease. They must receive enough good quality colostrum within the correct time frame to supply them with these vital anti-bodies. The ImmunIGY test can rapidly and reliably demonstrate the level of antibodies present in calves up to 42 days of age – previous tests have only been reliable up to around 7 days so this offers us a much bigger window to test. It also relies on collection of a sample usinga lancet so anyone can be trained to take samples on farm. There are proven benefits to measuring the success of passive transfer (PT); farms that regularly monitor it are shown to have much better success rates. It is typically thought that dairy calves are most at risk of failure of passive transfer (FPT) but we see it in beef suckler units as well. Correct colostrum delivery has proven long-term impacts on production – it is not just the initial few months of a calf’s life where it is key. Calves moved into rearing units with good PT scores grew 10% faster and used 46% less anti-biotic over there lifetime. It could also be used to identify calves that are likely to need a bit more TLC.
