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Matthias Wiemann presents Poster 36 during the poster sessions in the Aula.
Session theme 4: Assessing health status of groups of animals in relation to welfare
108
Poster 36
REDUCING THE INCIDENCE OF DIARRHOEA IN CALVES BY
SUPPLEMENTATION OF THE PROBIOTIC STRAIN E.FAECIUM NCIMB
10415 TO MILK REPLACER OR FULL MILK FEEDING
M. Wiemann 1 , H.-J. Kunz 2 , W. Steinberg 1 , R. Brugger 1
1 DSM Nutritional Products Ltd., Animal Nutrition and Health, Basel, Switzerland
2 Landwirtschaftskammer Schleswig Holstein, Research Center Futterkamp, Blekendorf, Germany
On modern dairy cattle farms the mortality of calves due to enteric diseases is a severe problem
which affects profitability and animal welfare. Supplementation of probiotics to calves feed during
the milk feeding period promotes development of a protective microflora in the digestive system
and therefore reduces pathogen microorganisms which cause diarrhoea cases.
The probiotic feed additive CYLACTIN®LBC contains a live strain of Enterococcus faecium
NCIMB 10415. Two studies on farm level have been conducted measuring the impact of
CYLACTIN®LBC on the health status of calves. In the first trial the feeding system was based on
milk replacer while in the second one full milk was fed to the calves. CYLACTIN®LBC was
supplemented via the milk replacer or directly to the full milk. Both trials have been conducted with
Holstein-Frisians calves housed in individual outdoor cages. The numbers of diarrhoea cases and
applied veterinarian treatments per group have been counted.
The first trial based on milk replacer was conducted on the research station Futterkamp (D) with in
total 64 newborn calves (32 animals per group) over 70 days. In this trial the control group counted
8 cases of diarrhoea and 12 treatments while the CYLACTIN group counted 4 cases and 4
treatments respectively.
The second trial based on full milk was conducted on a practical farm in Mecklenburg (D) with in
total 184 newborn calves (92 animals per group) over 56 days. In this trial the control group
counted 19 cases of diarrhoea and 32 treatments while the CYLACTIN group counted 5 cases and 7
treatments respectively.
Overall the two studies confirmed that supplementation of the probiotic CYLACTIN®LBC reduced
the incidence of diarrhoea of young calves in feeding systems either based on milk replacers or on
full milk. It can be claimed that an improved enteric health status of calves promotes animal welfare
on farm level.
Contact information: Matthias Wiemann or email matthias.wiemann@dsm.com
Complete address: DSM Nutritional Products Europe, PO Box 2676, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
Species: Dairy cattle