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Prepartum Milking. III. The Plasma Levels of Carotene and Vitamin A in Calves from Dams Milked Prepartum and in Calves from Dams Milked Postpartum¹

Animal Industries Department, Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station, Storrs, Connecticut

ABSTRACT

The effect of prepartum milking of the dam, for 10 days prior to the calculated parturition date, on the plasma carotene and vitamin A levels, liveweight changes, and incidence of scours in 41 young dairy calves has been studied. Secondarily, the effect of feeding one million USP units of vitamin A daily for 30 days prepartum was measured.

The data indicate that prepartum milking significantly lowers the level of blood plasma carotene and vitamin A in calves from 1 wk. through 4 wk. of age, as compared to those values for calves from dams milked postpartum only. The feeding of supplementary vitamin A prepartum resulted in significantly greater blood plasma levels of vitamin A for the entire experimental period and lower but not statistically significant blood plasma carotene levels. The differences between treatments, in liveweight and incidence of scours, were not statistically significant.

¹ This work was supported in part by the Big-Y-Foundation, Norwich, Conn. and Chas. M. Cox., Boston, Mass.