Efecto de la suplementación de mamones con derivados de levadura sobre su rendimiento zootécnico, salud y la rentabilidad en granja
Marine Gauthier1, Paula Soler1, David Terán1
(1)-Lallemand Animal Nutrition
Beef calf integrated farms in Europe
are specialized in the fattening of calves, receiving dairy and crossbred animals
from various countries when they are between 2 to 3 weeks old (before weaning)
and raising them until they reach 5 to 6 months of age (weaned animals). Calves
are weaned at a body weight (BW) of 110 kg, after 70 to 77 days. Depending on
market demands, calves either stay at the same farm until slaughter, reaching a
final BW of 400 to 700 kg, or are transported to other fattening farms within
the integration to reach a final BW of 350 kg. Major health challenges at
arrival include pneumonia and enteric disorders, with are exacerbated with
transport and mixing of calves coming from different origins.
The objective of our trial, conducted in one integrated farm in Hungary, was to determine the efficacy of a yeast derivative product YANG to improve health and performance of Holstein bull calves during preweaning period. Beef calves were fed twice a day with 2.5L of milk/drink (at concentration of 125g/L) during the first 6 weeks on farm, on the week 7 it decreases to 4L daily, after which calves are weaned. The treatment involved mixing YANG with milk replacer (21%CP and 19%Fat)directly at farm, at 5g/day/calf during the first 2 weeks then 3g/day/calf for the next 5 weeks until weaning. Animals were housed in small groups of 10 calves, and the trial included two batches of calves during the full preweaning period. The first batch to arrive (Batch 1) was compound by heavier animals (BW0=54kg) with 62 in control group and 42 in YANG group that will be weaned after 72 days. The second batch (Batch 2) was compound by lighter animals (BW0=47kg) with 56 control calves and 50 YANG calves, that will be weaned after 79 days. After weaning, trial stopped and animals were sold and transported to a fattening facility from the same integrator. Final BW and average daily gain (ADG) were analysed with univariate ANOVA with BW at arrival (BW0) as covariate.
Results showed that the YANG group had a significant improved BW at weaning of 130.2kg versus 119.4kg in Control group (+9%, p<0.01) and an increased average daily gain (ADG) of 1048g/d versus 906g/d in Control group (p<0.01). The YANG group also exhibited better homogeneity in BW and ADG at the end of the trial period, with lower standard deviations within the groups. Mortality between groups was not different (2%, mainly pneumonia) but veterinary costs for antibiotics were lower in the YANG group, with significant savings observed in the Batch 2, the most sensitive due to lighter animals.
The return on investment analysis indicated that the extra live weight gain of +10.7 kg in the YANG group, resulted in an additional revenue of €26 per live calf sold to the fattening unit. After subtracting the cost of medication and YANG supplementation, the extra profit per calf in the YANG group ranged from €23 (Batch 1) to €27 (Batch 2).
