Background
Colostrum is the most important factor in the health of the new born calf. It has always been assumed that provided the calf received mother's colostrum, this would be sufficient. However, recent veterinary tests have shown that a large percentage of calves has significantly low antibody levels at 3 - 5 days of age.

A calf is at risk if it does not receive colustrum within the first twelve hours of life or if it receives poor quality colustrum from a heifer or young cow that has not built up on-farm immunity.