Re: [IceHorses] Colostrum
>> Colostrum freezes well and can even be microwaved >> without harming those handy little antibodies. > > That is definitely not my understanding. I've been told NOT to microwave it, > and to warm it carefully by placing in "warm" water. > > Are there any studies available that show microwaving colostrum is okay? Cheryl: I have to concur. I was told by two vets that frozen colostrum must be thawed and warmed gently and not microwaved. Anneliese
RE: [IceHorses] Colostrum
>>> This is by Kathleen of the haflinger list, who is on foal watch for a herd of mares (she asked me if the Icelandics' colostrum came already frozen :-)): There are a couple of things in this that I'd question. First, I wouldn't judge the content of the colostrums by the color. Every one of the seven mares (six actually, one has delivered twice) here had white milk as soon as the foal was on the ground. Second, how many breeders have the vet check the foals immunity level by blood test a few hours after he's born? I've done it with all of my foals. Of the seven, only Landi tested low - very low. He was up quickly and was nursing within 4-5 hours. If I hadn't been with him, I would have missed the early struggle. The problem was that Sina's bag was SO full, that he couldn't get a grip. By the time we'd normally have been up and about, he was nursing. Frankly, I was very surprised that his immunity was so low, but glad we tested it so he could get the plasma transfusion. It would have been heart breaking to watch a foal born healthy suddenly get sick and suffer, possibly die. I went through that with a neighbor years ago. It was stressful and very expensive. Luckily, their filly survived, but it took a lot of care. Even if I'd had the frozen colostrums, I would not have given it to Landi, but would have saved it for a more severe case. After all Sina had plenty of milk...who would have guessed? Of the mares who have delivered here, Flekka APPEARED to have the smallest bag. However, she produced plenty of mild for Isak to flourish. His immunity was great, so apparently she produced plenty of quality colostrums too. If I had given any of the foals here an emergency stash of frozen colostrums, it would have been him. I am SO happy that I have a vet that I trust because looks sure can be deceiving. Karen Thomas, NC
Re: [IceHorses] Colostrum
Thanks Judy, reading the study I think I'd stick with thawing in warm water over microwaving. Hopefully I'll never need it! Cheryl ToltallyICE at Sand Creek Icelandic Horse Farm Icelandic Horses and Icelandic Sheepdogs email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] website: www.toltallyice.com Idaho
Re: [IceHorses] Colostrum
>> Colostrum freezes well and can even be microwaved >> without harming those handy little antibodies. > > That is definitely not my understanding. I've been told NOT to microwave > it, > and to warm it carefully by placing in "warm" water. > > Are there any studies available that show microwaving colostrum is okay? This is from PubMed: Characteristics of frozen colostrum thawed in a microwave oven. Jones LR, Taylor AW, Hines HC. Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana 61801. Use of a microwave oven to thaw frozen colostrum was evaluated. Colostrum was collected from nine cows, four of which were immunized to produce specific colostral antibodies. Colostrum from each cow was frozen, subsequently thawed, and pooled. One-liter aliquots of the pooled colostrum were frozen and assigned randomly to three thawing treatments. Colostrum was thawed using one of three regimens: 10 min in a microwave oven at full power (650 W), 17 min in a microwave oven at half power (325 W), and 25 min in 45 degrees C water. Colostrum thawed in the microwave oven was slightly coagulated and had lower volume and total protein content than colostrum thawed in water. Casein and pH were not different among treatments. Both concentration and total content of immunoglobulin A were higher in the control than in microwave treatments. Neither amount nor concentration of immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin M were different among treatments. Immunological activity, measured by a hemolytic test, was lower for microwave treatments than the control but did not differ between microwave treatments. Frozen colostrum thawed in a microwave oven should provide a reasonable source of colostrum when fresh high quality colostrum is not available. Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
Re: [IceHorses] Colostrum
I've been told NOT to microwave it, > and to warm it carefully by placing in "warm" water. >From the "cow" people: "If colostrum is frozen, care needs to be taken in correct thawing procedures to prevent the opportunity for bacteria growth during this process as well. Colostrum should not be set out on the counter to thaw for long periods of time. Instead, it should be thawed using a warm water bath or the microwave. Colostrum should not be "cooked" using either one of these methods, for temperatures in excess of 60 degrees Celsius cause protein denaturization and decreased quality." Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
Re: [IceHorses] Colostrum
> This is by Kathleen of the haflinger list, who is on foal watch for a herd > of mares (she asked me if the Icelandics' colostrum came already frozen > :-)): I have some on hand but I had to freeze it! :o) > Colostrum freezes well and can even be microwaved > without harming those handy little antibodies. That is definitely not my understanding. I've been told NOT to microwave it, and to warm it carefully by placing in "warm" water. Are there any studies available that show microwaving colostrum is okay? Cheryl ToltallyICE at Sand Creek Icelandic Horse Farm Icelandic Horses and Icelandic Sheepdogs email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] website: www.toltallyice.com Idaho
[IceHorses] Colostrum
This is by Kathleen of the haflinger list, who is on foal watch for a herd of mares (she asked me if the Icelandics' colostrum came already frozen :-)): "I got to pull my first baby out of the mare last night! How exciting! After that, the mare is milked, her colostrum graded and the baby is bottle fed 8 oz of colostrum every 20 minutes until it stands and nurses on its own. This gives the baby the best chances of getting those antibodies into its system as soon as possible. I really like this system. I've seen babies take as long as 5 hours to stand for the first time. What if they didn't get colostrum for those 5 hours?? Or, like the other night, we had one mare that made tons of milk but whose colostrum graded very low quality and immediately after, another mare gave birth that had beautiful, off the chart colostrum but wasn't making much at all. It was a struggle just getting 4 ounces out of her and she wasn't the friendliest mare to deal with! Luckily we had a freezer stocked with frozen colostrum that just needed to be thawed. I know there are a lot of breeders on this list. I am uncomfortable with giving advice because I don't consider myself an authority on anything! But I urge any breeders that, if they have foals due, they should really harvest and freeze that colostrum just in case! ( Of course make sure the mare is okay with this! I don't recommend trying to milk a bitchy mare by yourself like I tried last night!! ) If you end up having a mare that produces little colostrum or no milk whatsoever, it will save you the frantic call in the middle of the night, trying to find someone with colostrum! Colostrum freezes well and can even be microwaved without harming those handy little antibodies. I know most private breeders probably don't have the nifty, little, kalidescope device that grades colostrum but its very easy to tell the difference. Colostrum is yellow and thick, milk looks just like cow's milk. The color of colostrum can range from warm butter to maple syrup. Doc even told me about some hi-test colostrum that was so dark it had a slight greenish tinge but I have yet to encounter that! The darker and thicker the colostrum, the higher grade the colostrum. The little bit that I managed to get out of the one bitchy mare last night was the color and consistency of bee's honey and graded off scale! It didn't even register! I call that "jet fuel for babies"! PLEASE if you breed horses, BANK THE COLOSTRUM! You never know what might happen! I can't wait to do foal watch with my own Haflinger mare. Maybe then I will allow myself to get unprofessionally emotional and shed a tear over the blessed event. I'm also very curious to see how Haflinger's colostrum grades! Kathleen _ Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
