Piglets at any moment now.

jhm47 said:

Colostrum most certainly IS species specific, and baby mammals that don't receive the correct antibodies will not get the immunity that colostrum imparts into their systems. Goat milk could be fine for piglets that have received colostrum, but it's never good to give it as their first feeding.

In fact, calves that receive colostrum from cows that are on different farms from where they are born often are susceptible to scours and pneumonia. This often happens when a cow has no milk, and someone goes to another farm or dairy and gets colostrum to feed to the calf. I will grant you that feeding bovine colostrum from another farm is better than no colostrum at all, but it's always better to feed colostrum from another cow that has been on the same farm, where the bacteria and viruses are the same.

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jhm47 said:

The reason they sell "multi-species" colostrum is because people buy it. It would do virtually no good to whatever they are feeding it to. You see, a newborn animal has a small window of time when colostrum will do it any good. After about 12 hours, the intestinal tract has pretty much closed off the ability to absorb the antibodies that colostrum contains. These antibodies help protect the newborn from many of the bacteria and viruses that the mother has been exposed to. This is part of the reason that we cattlemen don't like to co-mingle cows from another herd just before calving. The viruses and bacteria that one herd may carry will infect the calves from the other herd because the cows haven't had time to develop resistance to the foreign bacteria and viruses, and therefore they won't provide the antibodies that their calves need.

Also, feeding anything OTHER than the species specific colostrum to a newborn will cause their intestinal tract to close off the ability to absorb the antibodies. Granted, any colostrum is very rich in fat and proteins, and the newborn animal can certainly absorb them, but NOT the antibodies. The piglet is question was fed goats milk very early in life. I suspect that this closed down it's ability to absorb antibodies. I'm not sure, but I suspect that goat milk is lower in fat than pigs milk, and while this may have filled the digestive tract, it didn't provide the needed amount of fat and proteins that the little animal would have needed to overcome the cold. Therefore, it died.

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misfitmorgan said:

Actually it takes 24hrs before the intestines start to close and have a hard time digesting/absorbing the antibodies from the colostrum...studies have shown they keep digesting a small percentage of it even after 36hrs old.(National Dairy Heifer Evaluation Project is one study)

This is a study from NC state suggesting the use of cow colostrum in addition to sow, there are other sites/studies recomending cow colostrum if you can not get sow colostrum
https://www.ncsu.edu/project/swine_...tritionguide/nutrient_requirements/nutreq.htm

Sows also make colostrum for 24-48hrs so in theroy if the piglet could nurse it could have gotten colostrum still. The fact many places are suggesting the use of cow colostrum im fairly certain means it does not shut down the intestinal tract and cause it not to be able to absorb the immunoglobulins. If you have a study or source that shows it does i would love to see it.

Ideally in pigs the first 6hrs to get colostrum are the best for the piglets but several places recommend fostering pigs from large litters or with a large size difference on sows who have farrowed within 24hrs of each other...again suggesting there is viable colostrum even after 24hrs for a piglet to get the minimum recommended 100ml.

This site gives a run down on the previously mentioned National Dairy Heifer Evaluation Project and also says colostrum supplements are effective in calves at the least.
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/faq8021

This one is for colostrum supplements for piglets...actually shows the piglets on sow colostrum lost more weight then those on supplement colostrum.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23365360

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jhm47 said:

Whatever.

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Pamela said:

Wow, I didn't realize what trouble this post would cause. The piglet in question was warmed up before being fed, and it got maybe an ounce, probably less of the villanous goat's milk. It was then returned to its mother and was happily suckling on a teat the last time human eyes witnessed it alive. We didn't do a necropsy so who knows? We have lost one more. The runt was fine and then one day it wasn't. I have been around fa animals long enough to know that you will have some deaths and you can't save everyone.
On a happier note, we currently have 8 of the cutest little piggies running around! They are darling and are growing well. We have 2 sows on deck to deliver soon as well.

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