New life on the ranch is abundant this time of year. As we gear up for calving our beef cow herd, we usually have a few nurse cows bred to calve before our calving start date of March 1. These cows help to support the extra beef type calves throughout calving. Miss Oreo was right on track when she calved early morning on February 19, 2021! With a less than eventful delivery (this is her 4th pregnancy), she had her little heifer calf up and going in no time!

Colostrum, also known as liquid gold, is the first form of milk produced by a cow (people make colostrum too) before delivering a new born calf. This thick, nutritious liquid is packed with vitamins and antibodies that help protect the calf from bacteria and viruses. It is essential for a calf to get a good dose of colostrum within the first few hours of life. The colostrum will get them started on the right path to being healthy!

Obviously one little calf cannot handle the supply of colostrum a dairy cow has built up before calving. There are many different methods to how long you let a dairy calf have colostrum from the mother, I personally leave the cow and calf for 24 hours and do nothing as far as milking the cow. After the 24 hours is up I get the cow in and milk the rest of the colostrum out of her. This starts the process of her coming into her milk and gives her udder some relief as well. The baby and her are returned together so the baby can continue to get milk and more nutrients from the mother.

What do we do with the Colostrum??? Well, this is where we benefit from being able to collect that precious, "Liquid Gold." After, collecting the colostrum through milking the cow, we divide it into quart size portions. After sealing the containers up and labeling them with the date and cow that provided it, the invaluable liquid goes into the freezer to preserve its nutrients for a baby that may need it during calving.

This is very cost effective for us as a ranch. To buy a manufactured powdered colostrum mix that is comparable to the colostrum our milk cows give  would be at least $30+ per bag. Each bag would only feed that calf one helping (they need fed every 6 hours that first day) of the 24 hours it needs colostrum, so your looking at at least $120 to get a calf started on the right track in life.

Oreo gave us 3 1/2 gallons of colostrum, and that is after her calf was with her for 24 hours! We usually end up with some extra colostrum around due to the amount of fresh milk cows we have per year. If we have the extra to spare I will offer it for sale to local area ranchers and it doesn't stick around long. The ranchers that buy it appreciate the quality of the colostrum to give their calves the best start possible with the hand they were dealt. We personally give it to any calf we feel may have not got a good dose of colostrum, an extra twin and maybe even a calf that the mom died while giving birth (that doesn't happen often).

We are fortunate to have a well rounded operation that comingles within itself. Sometimes the nurse cows have to raise the beef calves and sometimes the beef calves need a little extra nutrition to start out life on the right track. I'm just tickled all of these resources are right at my fingertips.