EFFECT OF METOCLOPRAMIDE ON PASSIVE TRANSFER IN CALVES FED MATERNAL COLOSTRUM OR COLOSTRUM REPLACER

Abstract

Passive transfer failure is one of the most important problems in replacement breeding. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of metoclopramide (MCP) on passive transfer (PT), and to compare the quality of PT in calves fed maternal colostrum (MC) or colostrum replacer (CR). In total, 40 calves were assigned to 1 of 4 groups: [1] fed MC without MCP (A1P0), [2] fed MC with MCP application (A1P1), [3] fed CR without MCP (A2P0), and [4] fed CR with MCP application (A2P1). Blood samples were collected before (0 days) and after colostrum intake (2 days) to estimate hematocrit, serum concentration of glucose, protein and total solids associated with the quality of PT. At 2 days after colostrum intake, glucose concentration was high for the A1P0 group (85.5 mg/ dL) compared to the A2P0 group (54.0 mg/dL) (p<0.05). The A1P1 group showed the highest protein concentration (6.3 g/dL) compared to the A2P0 group (4.0 g/dL) (p<0.05). The Brix percentage was higher in the A1P0 and A1P1 groups (10.3%) compared to the A2P0 group (7.8%) (p<0.05). The
application of MCP had no significant effect on PT and there was no interaction between the types of colostrum and the prokinetic agent (p>0.05). The results of this study indicated that MCP does not affect PT and that intake of MC was better compared to the CR because it increased the quality of PT to glucose, protein, and total solids in blood.