2 minute read
Probiotics in Calf Health
By Jeff Hostetter, Product Manager
A few years ago, my sons found an interesting old glass bottle half-buried in the woods on our property. After a little research, we found it was a bottle that held Kickapoo Indian Sagwa, a compound that claimed to cure anything from constipation to liver problems. Manufactured in the 1880’s, it was sold through traveling medicine shows that were part infomercial, part carnival.
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In the past, some have looked at probiotics as a modern day “Sagwa.” But as more and more research is published, it’s becoming apparent how essential probiotics are to maintain a healthy herd, especially in the young calves.
Probiotics are defined as live microorganisms, which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host. Their main purpose is to enhance intestinal health in five different ways:
1. Encourage development of a healthy microbiota (all of the microorganisms that exist in the GI tract) 2. Prevent harmful pathogens from colonizing the intestine (competitive exclusion) 3. Increase digestive capacity 4. Reduce pH 5. Produce beneficial metabolites
Probiotics in the past often contained only one species of bacteria. These probiotics occasionally yielded positive results, but it was variable due to the diversity of the microbiota. The microbiota can vary greatly from farm to farm and even from calf to calf on the same farm. Early probiotics often did not contain enough quantity and quality of bacteria to produce a benefit.
Premier Select Sires offers the newest generation of probiotics that have solved the inconsistencies of the past. They have multiple species of bacteria, contain CFU levels that are the highest in the market, and are manufactured with the highest quality standards in a state of the art facility.
Our probiotics have been shown to be a good investment when fed on an everyday basis. They are especially valuable during stressful times such as dehorning, weather changes, transport, antibiotic treatment, and weaning. Antibiotics will kill good and bad bacteria in the GI tract, so it’s important to feed probiotics anytime calves receive antibiotics, even if it’s from pasteurized waste milk.
Premier offers several products for the young calf that contain probiotics and that are research-proven to improve their health and growth.
As we continue to advance the technology in producing effective probiotics, this costeffective tool can help us to lower morbidity and mortality, reduce antibiotic usage, and improve the health and growth of calves. By achieving those goals, this proactive approach to calf health will give us a more valuable asset that has greater profit potential from more efficient growth and higher milk production.
Premier Probiotic Products
TRI-START JR.
A bolus with 20 billion CFU’s of beneficial bacteria from 6 different species.
