🤱 Who drinks milk: young animals and feeding

Who drinks milk: young animals and feeding covers those for whom nature made milk: the young of mammals, from the calf, the lamb and the goat kid to the elephant calf and the whale calf, as well as the breastfeeding of a child.

The first milk after birth is colostrum. In the EU this is the name for the fluid of the mammary glands in the first 3–5 days after giving birth, rich in antibodies and minerals. Cow colostrum contains up to 40% dry matter and about 11% whey proteins, against about 0.65% in ordinary milk. Its immunoglobulins protect the calf until its own immunity develops, and calves that do not get enough colostrum are highly vulnerable to gut infections.

For children, WHO and UNICEF recommend starting breastfeeding within the first hour after birth, breastfeeding exclusively for the first 6 months and then continuing to 2 years and beyond alongside complementary foods. Early initiation gives the newborn colostrum, rich in protective factors. Yet in 2018–2025 only about 47% of infants under 6 months worldwide were exclusively breastfed; WHO estimates that full adherence to the recommendations could prevent almost 400,000 deaths of children under 5 each year.

The NHS advises giving cow's milk as a main drink no earlier than at 1 year, because its balance of nutrients does not suit babies; goat's and sheep's milk also not before one year, and then only pasteurized. Children aged 1–3 need about 350 mg of calcium a day, which is roughly 300 ml of milk.

Most of the world's milk comes from cows: according to FAO they account for 81% of production, buffaloes for 15%, goats for 2% and sheep for 1%.