The Cutting Edge - Article 29 - Supplementing the Transition Wet Calf

Operators To OWNERS

The effect of feeding Levucell SC™ rumen specific live yeast on feed intake and weight gain performance of calves during weaning

Big 3 Infographic at otovets.com/cuttingedge

Link: https://www.wageningenacademic.com/pb-assets/wagen/files/JAAN/JAAN_back_issues/S2049257X17000018a.pdf

Big Take Away #1 Even in the face of a moderately aggressive milk limiting ration, improvements were seen at weaning using a yeast type rumen development “supplement.”

Many of these milk limiting rations are thought to better develop the rumen than high milk rations and therefore producers ignore supplementing them via other means.

Big Take Away #2: Once again researchers showed that adding “pro-biotics,” even rumen specific yeasts did not improve weight gain in wet calves.

The positive benefit of probiotics in the normally functioning animal “monogastric” ruminant still remains hazy at best.

Big Take Away #3: Once again researchers have found that the addition of pro-rumen development products improved or maintained rate of gain through the transition period but not into the period beyond the first week.

Researchers in this study found that during the week of weaning animals on the yeast supplement gained almost 1.5x as much per day as non-supplement animals.

Published by A. Turney, A. Clay, and L. Waldron

Location: Lallemand Nz, LWT Animal Nutrition à Industry funded by Lallemand Nurtition NZ Ltd and a Calloghan Innovation grant

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effect of feeding a rumen specific live yeast (Levucell SC™) on feed intakes and body weights of calves at weaning