Feeding milk containing Staphylococcus aureus to calves

Newborn calves from dams free of staphyloccocal udder infection were assigned to treatment groups in two experiments. Following colostrum feeding for 2 days, a culture of Staphylococcus aureus was added to pasteurized milk fed to one group twice weekly for a total of nine feedings. A control group received only pasteurized milk. Bull calves were in a short experiment to determine whether the organism was established in body tissues, and a second experiment was to determine the effect on incidence of mastitis at calving. No staphylococcus aureus was isolated from any body tissue or surfaces of bull calves necropsied at about 7 wk of age. Moreover, there was no difference in incidence of staphylococcal udder infection at first calving between heifers exposed to the organism as calves and controls. There appears little reason for concern about detrimental effects of feeding mastitic milk to calves under conditions where they are maintained in individual pens.