Factors associated with microbiological quality of bovine colostrum in Colombian dairy herds

The microbiological quality of colostrum and identify cow, calf and farm managemental factors associated with colostrum hygiene in Colombian dairy herds were determined. Colostrum samples (n = 255) from 44 herds were collected for bacteriological quality analysis. A survey about colostrum management was carried out for each birth event. Only 18% of the samples exceeded the threshold 100,000 cfu mL⁻¹ for the total bacterial count (TBC), and more than 54.5% of the herds have at least one colostrum sample above the TBC threshold. The total coliform count was higher than the threshold 10,000 cfu mL⁻¹ in 24.3% of colostrum samples and 68.2% of herds. Associations between cow-calf factors and the colostrum hygiene were examined. The two-level logistic regression showed that the colostrum microbiological quality was influenced by suckling colostrum from mother, feeding colostrum with a bottle and when the colostrum came of large herds.