Any ideas how close to lambing

[Chickerdoodle13]

There are quite a few colostrum replacers on the market. Some are better than others, but you just have to do your research. Definitely don't buy the cheapest stuff at TSC. Fresh colostrum is easily pasteurized and can be frozen.

However, it's quite easy to test the quality of colostrum with a refractometer. Tthe lesser quality colostrum is often saved for the male animals. I'm sure you could test the store bought colostrum as well.

 

[WallabyOfChaos]

Pasteurization will not kill the Scrapie prion though. For a hobby farmer with a few head as pets, then seeking out fresh colostrum may be an option. For the commercial producer whose livelihood is on the line, the risk is not worth the reward.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I'll have to look into it but I believe many commercial producers only buy new sheep or colostrum from scrapie free certified flocks. It's a voluntary program but has been quite effective at preventing new cases of scrapie. Other farms can stash their own colostrum if they are already scrapie-free.

 

[WallabyOfChaos]

Unfortunately there are very few certified Scrapie-free flocks in the U.S. compared to the total number of sheep and sheep producers. The last time I checked the list, there were no certified flocks in the state of Texas - which is one of the larger sheep producing states in the country. Most commercial producers in our area retain their own ewe lambs and/or buy from other producers. A lot of networking happens amongst sheepers. The certification program is definitely a great thing, but sadly compliance is nearly impossible for a range-based operation like so many commercial flocks are in our part of the country. Everyone we know who is actually raising sheep is enrolled in the eradication program, and we all tag our sheep, but no one has pursued certification. The record-keeping is the easy part. The necessary carcass testing is what puts most producers out because if we ever find the dead sheep, the coyotes and buzzards make sure that there is nothing left to test for Scrapie.

 

[cassie]

This may or may not be helpful. I have limited experience with sheep but I did raise goats for many years. When I was raising goats we did not feed raw milk or colostrum to kids because of CAE. We pasteurized all milk fed to kids but you can't pasteurize colostrum. If you try it turns to pudding and even if it didn't the high temperature would destroy the antibodies contained in it. While it is possible to heat treat colostrum to kill the CAE virus, it isn't easy so we used cow colostrum instead. If there are any dairies in the area it may be possible to get good colostrum from a dairyman and freeze it. That is what we did. I know cows are not goats or sheep, but the colostrum did work out just fine for baby goats. My guess is that it would be OK for lambs too. If you can't get decent colostrum otherwise, it's worth a shot.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

This may or may not be helpful.  I have limited experience with sheep but I did raise goats for many years. When I was raising goats we did not feed raw milk or colostrum to kids because of CAE.  We pasteurized all milk fed to kids but you can't pasteurize colostrum.  If you try it turns to pudding and even if it didn't the high temperature would destroy the antibodies contained in it. While it is possible to heat treat colostrum to kill the CAE virus, it isn't easy so we used cow colostrum instead. If there are any dairies in the area it may be possible to get good colostrum from a dairyman and freeze it.  That is what we did.  I know cows are not goats or sheep, but the colostrum did work out just fine for baby goats. My guess is that it would be OK for lambs too.  If you can't get decent colostrum otherwise, it's worth a shot.

You can definitely pasteurize colostrum, but perhaps pasteurizing is the wrong term. It is more like heat treating. You do not use as high a temperature. It's done for Many of the dairy farms I work with all the time. I will investigate further about the process though.

Using another species colostrum will not give it the same passive transfer needed for all the diseases it should to be protected against. Things like cocci, or other diseases are all different in goats, sheep and cows. You may have some minimal protection against things like viruses, and I suppose it's better than nothing. I just wouldn't make that a habit.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Just an addendum that wallaby is correct in that heat treating does not kill scrapie, but for a backyard owner that is not as much of an issue.

Around here the scrapie program is promoted fairly heavily. I didn't realize that there are fewer participants in Texas. I know there are good replacements on the market but many lay owners tend to go to TSC and buy whatever is on sale. That's mainly why I don't recommend replacements for most people. However, it sounds like you and your vet have found something that works for you!

 

[cassie]

You can definitely pasteurize colostrum, but perhaps pasteurizing is the wrong term. It is more like heat treating. You do not use as high a temperature. It's done for Many of the dairy farms I work with all the time. I will investigate further about the process though.

Using another species colostrum will not give it the same passive transfer needed for all the diseases it should to be protected against. Things like cocci, or other diseases are all different in goats, sheep and cows. You may have some minimal protection against things like viruses, and I suppose it's better than nothing. I just wouldn't make that a habit.

To pasteurize, the milk is heated to 165. If you do that to colostrum, you have pudding. To heat treat colostrum you heat it to 140 and it must be held at that temperature for an hour. If you get it much above 140 you destroy the vital antibodies. If it drops below that, your efforts are wasted because the viruses you are trying to get rid of won't be killed. I have heat treated enough colostrum to make me decide to try something else.

I know all the theories about why colostrum from one species shouldn't work on another. However, cow colostrum seems to work just fine on dairy goat kids in spite of that. Which goes to show you that what ought to happen is often not what really happens when you actually try it. That goes for a lot of things in life. I am not talking about using cow colostrum on one or two kids, either. I had a commercial dairy and I was milking a 100 does so I raised a lot of kids. My kids got cow colostrum and either pasteurized goat milk or raw cow milk. The other dairies in my area, and there were quite a few of them at the time, fed cow colostrum to their kids, too with great success. So did the local hobby breeders with purebred herds on a CAE prevention program I have no idea how well cow colostrum would work on sheep. I have had very limited experience with sheep. I just threw out the suggestion in case someone might find it useful.

 

[GypsyCandy]

To pasteurize, the milk is heated to 165.  If you do that to colostrum, you have pudding.  To heat treat colostrum you heat it to 140 and it must be held at that temperature for an hour.  If you get it much above 140 you destroy the vital antibodies.  If it drops below that, your efforts are wasted because the viruses you are trying to get rid of won't be killed. I have heat treated enough colostrum to make me decide to try something else.  

I know all the theories about why colostrum from one species shouldn't work on another. However, cow colostrum seems to work just fine on dairy goat kids in spite of that. Which goes to show you that what ought to happen is often not what really happens when you actually try it. That goes for a lot of things in life.  I am not talking about using cow colostrum on one or two kids, either.  I had a commercial dairy and I was milking a 100 does so I raised a lot of kids.  My kids got cow colostrum and either pasteurized goat milk or raw cow milk.  The other dairies in my area, and there were quite a few of them at the time, fed cow colostrum to their kids, too with great success. So did the local hobby breeders with purebred herds on a CAE prevention program  I have no idea how well cow colostrum would work on sheep. I have had very limited experience with sheep.  I just threw out the suggestion in case someone might find it useful.

Is that American heat or Australian heat for milk?

 

[cassie]

Is that American heat or Australian heat for milk?

Fahrenheit. Not centigrade. Hope that helps.