Freezing colostrum - instructions?

[ChestnutCreek]

Can anyone share instructions to evaluate and prepare colostrum for freezing, i.e., how much should you freeze, how to prepare and store the colostrum, etc. Exodus sells a colostrum collection and banking kit that includes a hydrometer to measure the quality but it’s pretty pricey ($105). I was hoping to assemble my own kit. I have milked this mare before and was able to extract lots of milk with a 60cc syringe with the tip cut off. So I can collect but how to proceed from there is what I’m looking for…

1. When exactly do you collect? After foal nursing well and in the first 12 hours? How much should be collected?

2. As far as determining the quality of the colostrum, how do you use the antifreeze beads?

3. Any preparation prior to freezing (filtering, etc.)?

4. What type of container should be used for storage?

Thanks in advance for your input!

[K_2]

I’m not an expert by any means, but we freeze colostrum every year.

Collect a bottle of colostrum - feed to the foal, collect another bottle for freezing, more our less immediately after the mare stands up. I use the udderly ez milker.

Colostrum is set aside to be processed after all other foaling duties are done (placenta passed, umbilical dipped, etc.).

I filter any dirt/debris by placing a gauze pad across the container I’m filtering into. I store in Ziploc bags, double bagged, air removed and put into a plasticcontainer into the freezer.

I measure quality by the result of the iGG test we do on all our foals. I assume if their levels are high, the colostrum is of good enough quality to be storing.

[Home_Again_Farm]

Basically, what k2 said, except that I used an antifreeze tester to test the colostrum. You want to see all the balls in the tube suspended in the liquid (none sitting on the bottom).

[Molly_Malone]

How long is it good for? I have Sept 2012 and May 2013 but if I offer it up, I want to be sure it’s OK - TIA

[Home_Again_Farm]

http://www.aaep.org/health_articles_view.php?id=144

[sixpoundfarm]

I had some frozen colostrum that I collected in 2008, as well as a small amount from 2011, from two different mares. Just last week, My vet’s practice had a client mare that foaled who had streamed milk for days, so I gave them what I had, and it was given to the foal, who subsequently had an IgG greater than 2400. So… while older is not ideal, its better than nothing.

[Hillside_H_Ranch]

We save colostrum from every foaling mare, each year. The exceptions are that we do not save colostrum from maiden mares or mares that have had any problems (such as placentitis). We generally milk out 16 ounces to be fed to the foal immediately, then milk another 16 ounces to be frozen. We use the Udderly EZ milker, and we store the milk in the bottles provided. We generally refrigerate the milk until the IgG test is run, so that we have an idea of the quality. We will keep colostrum from mares even if the IgG isn’t sky high (for example, IgG between 400-800), but we always make a notation on the bottle. Colostrum is worth its weight in gold, so even if the IgG wasn’t fantastic, the colostrum still has some value and could be extremely helpful in a pinch. Likewise with older colostrum; we try to always use the oldest colostrum first, and generally it is used within one year. But I would never throw away 2 or 3 year old colostrum, as long as it had been stored properly.