Colostrum Care Center
The Colostrum Care Center is a leading-edge colostrum processing center designed to offer complete handling of colostrum, from cow to calf. It’s leading-edge technology offers: Bagging, Pasteurizing, Cooling, Rewarming and Feeding of Colostrum, all in one package.
Borrowing from our Milk Jug Lacto-Thermal technology, we use both sides of the refrigeration system to cool and heat the water baths used to Pasteurize, Cool, and Rewarm the Colostrum. This technology provides the means to carry out the complete process of preparing colostrum for feeding calves in the most efficient and economical means.
How it Works:
There are three water bath zones in one enclosure (about the size of a small horizontal chest freezer) that are always ready to carry out the three tasks of preparing colostrum. After the cows first milking, the colostrum is collected and put into 1-gallon colostrum bags. These bags should be tamper-proof and will securely maintain the integrity throughout the pasteurizing, chilling, storage, rewarming, and feeding process. (Calf Star Colostrum Bags and accessories are available for purchase with the Colostrum Care Center).
- The Cooling Zone contains a chilled water bath of 36°-38°F (2°-4°C) used to immediately chill the post-pasteurized colostrum to stop bacteria growth, then keeps it refrigerated until it’s time to feed to the next calf ‘or’ to put it in the freezer for longer term storage.
- The Pasteurize Zone utilizes the heat generated from the chilling system to preheat the water. When the pasteurizing cycle begins, it will then utilize an electric element to supply any additional heat needed to achieve and maintain a pasteurizing temperature of 140°F (60°C).
- The Rewarming Zone is crucial in preparing the colostrum for the first feeding of the calves without damaging any of the key elements of the colostrum. The Rewarming Zone will bring the pasteurized colostrum to feeding temperature gently and quickly (15 minutes for chilled and 20-25 minutes for frozen colostrum).
