Calf Talk

June, 2010

Volume 16, No. 6

PROBIOTICS IMPROVE FEED EFFICIENCY

By: Russ Schnepper, DVM

Probiotics are small organisms that help maintain the natural balance of “friendly bacteria” in the intestines. They suppress the growth of harmful bacteria and improve immune function. Home made yogurt can function as a probiotic. However, most commercially produced yogurt is pasteurized and the “bugs” are killed, making it nearly useless as a probiotic. Before we had good commercially available probiotics, I had a client who would take a fat steer to the local slaughter house yearly. He saved all the rumen contents in individual quart zip-lock bags and froze them. When he had need for a probiotic, he thawed a bag and fed it to the calf, with surprisingly good results.

QUANTUM LEAP PROBIOTIC - plus FOS improves feed efficiency of veal calves better than low level antibiotics and at less cost. There is no slaughter withdrawal, and it is a legal feed. Low level tetracycline or ANY ANTIBIOTIC FOR GROWTH PROMOTION IS ILLEGAL. In the first month in the feeding program, veterinarians can prescribe tetracycline for use in veal at therapeutic doses only.

Different stages of a calf’s life require different species and strains of bacteria. QUANTUM LEAP PROBIOTIC plus FOS selects the right live bacteria to protect the calf against intestinal pathogens. E. coli & Clostridial counts are lowered dramatically.

BENEFITS OF USING QUANTUM LEAP PROBIOTICS plus FOS:

- provides the calf with specific lactic acid producing bacteria to maintain the correct balance of intestinal micro flora in the gut.

- includes non-digestible Poly and Oligosaccharides which is a preventative measure against intestinal pathogens.

- improves appetites and enhances performance by improving feed efficiency.

-.reduces the number of sick and dead calves while lowering medication costs.

- is user friendly, easy to use, safe, fast acting, and cost effective.

POLY AND OLIGOSACCHARIDES (FOS) IMPROVE HEALTH & FEED EFFICIENCY:

Several years of large scale use of FOS in Europe by veal and swine producers have shown equal or better results than feeding antibiotics. FOS is a highly soluble spray-dried white powder form of inulin from chicory. It contains a mixture of oligosaccharides and polysaccharides made of fructose units.

Best feed efficiency and most consistency were obtained when a specific Probiotic was provided with FOS to establish a protective flora as soon as possible. In trials under field conditions where the veal calf feeding period was 27 weeks, controls gained 421 pounds, the antibiotic fed calves gained 424.6 pounds and the Probiotic plus FOS calves gained 435.4 pounds.

FEEDING DIRECTIONS: Mix 4.5 grams (approximately 1 teaspoonful) per calf per feeding or 1 pound/100 calves in the milk/feeding.

We store our probiotics in a cooler so they live longer. Heat kills probiotics.

NEVER FEED WITH ANTIBIOTICS, BECAUSE THEY KILL THE PROBIOTICS!!!

Contact information for ordering information and questions about our products:

Schnepper International, Inc.

3210 County B, Platteville, WI 53818

608-348-6141, Fax: 608-348-6146