The effectiveness of early use of a probiotic drug in calf rearing

Abstract

The aim of the research was to evaluate the effect of a probiotic drug on metabolic parameters, the microbiome of the digestive tract and the dynamics of body weight gain in calves. To do this, newborn young (n=10) with the first colostrum drink (hereinafter with milk) once a day for two weeks were given 0.5 ml of a probiotic drug containing 10⁷ CFU /ml of Lactobacillus plantarum PL-99, Lactobacillus buchneri BX-99 and Bacillus subtilis BS2017 in a ratio of 1:1:1. The control was animals that had not been given a probiotic drug (n=10). It was shown that against the background of the use of bacterial culture, the content of total protein in blood serum was 10,0% (P<0,05) higher than that of the control group, globulins by 24,8% (P<0,05) alkaline phosphatase activity by 48,8% (P<0,05). The use of probiotics was accompanied by an increase in the total bacterial mass in the intestinal contents (by 1×10^8,44; P≤0,01), including the number of lactobacilli (by 1×10^6,79; P≤0,05), bacteria of the genera Staphylococcus (by 1×10^2,97; P≤0,01), Fusobacterium (by 1×10^7,52; P≤0,05), Clostridium (by 1×10^8,07; P≤0,001), Corynebacterium (by 1×10^5,02; P≤0,01). At the same time, the concentration of microorganisms such as Streptococcus spp, Eubacterium spp, Peptostreptococcus spp, which can cause diseases of the digestive tract, significantly decreased. The use of the biopreparation contributed to a 40% reduction in the occurrence of diarrhea in young animals and an increase in the average daily increase in the first month of cultivation by 36,7 g (P <0,05). Thus, early administration of the probiotic under study during the first two weeks of the neonatal period has a beneficial effect on nitrogen metabolism, the formation of intestinal microbiocenosis and the intensity of body weight gain, as well as a decrease in the incidence of diarrhea in calves.