Colostrum feeding is an integral component of neonatal calf care with many effects on calf health and productivity, yet failure of passive transfer remains common on many dairy farms. A sufficient quantity and quality colostrum must be fed quickly to the newborn calf. Colostrum with a total bacteria count (TBC) > 100,000 cfu/mL may impair IgG absorption and contribute to disease. The objective of this study was to validate Hygiena AquaSnap (AS) and MicroSnap (MS) swabs for detection of elevated bacterial counts in colostrum-feeding equipment. AS and MS swabs offer a potential rapid calf-side alternative to traditional bacterial culture. The reagents in the swabs produce a light-generating reaction when in contact with bacterial adenosine triphosphate, which is quantified in relative light units (RLU) with a luminometer. From April to October 2016, 18 esophageal tube feeders, 49 nipple bottles and 6 pails from 52 dairy farms in Ontario were evaluated for cleanliness. Sterile physiological saline (15 mL) was poured into each piece of equipment, mixed for 2 min to ensure total surface coverage and poured into a sterile collection container through the feeding end. All wash fluid was split into equal aliquots, with one being evaluated by the by conventional culture and the other evaluated using both the AS and MS swabs. Non-parametric receiver operator curves were generated using STATA 14 for each of AS and MS, comparing the RLU to bacterial counts. The area under the curve (AUC) comparing the AS swab to TBC (cut point > 100,000 cfu/mL) was 0.89 (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.8–1) and using a cut point of 631 RLU correctly classified 84% of samples with a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 77%. The AUC comparing the MS swab to total coliform count (cut point > 100,000 cfu/mL) was 0.85 (95% CI: 0.7–1) and using a cut point of 44 RLU correctly classified 89% of samples with a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 90%. The results suggest that the AS and MS swabs can be used as an alternative to traditional lab bacterial counts to evaluate cleanliness of colostrum-feeding equipment.