Abstract #225

# 225
Effect of Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation products on performance, diarrhea outbreaks, and plasma glucose and NEFA concentration in bottle-fed calves.
Lucia Pisoni*1, Kathryn V. Whinnery1, Alejandro E. Relling1, 1The Ohio State University, Department of Animal Sciences, Wooster, OH.

The use of microbial additives in rations has become a common practice in ruminant’s nutrition. The main purpose on their use is to increase cattle performance and production from early stages. One of these additives are yeast cultures like Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation products (SCFP). The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of SCFP on BW, DMI, diarrhea outbreaks, and plasma glucose and NEFA concentration in bottle fed calves. Eighty newborn calves (n = 40 per treatment) were involved in this experiment. They were randomly assigned to a control (C) treatment or SCFP supplemented treatment (SC). Calves received a total of 6 L of colostrum at birth and 3 L of milk twice daily. They were offered ad-libitum access to a solid concentrate since d 3. Calves on SC also received 1 g of SmartCare daily on the colostrum or milk in the morning feeding, and 0.7% of NutriTek on the solid feed. Body weight was recorded at birth and on d 14, 30, 45, and 60. Dry matter offered was measured daily and refusals twice a week to obtain an average DMI. Blood was sampled on d 7 and 14 to evaluate plasma glucose and NEFA concentration. Fecal scores were recorded daily. On d 30, fecal samples were collected for measurements of Salmonella and E. coli concentration on feces. Data were analyzed as a randomized complete block design with repeated measurements (SAS 9.4). The model included the random effect of birth day (block), and the fixed effect of treatment, time and the interaction of treatment by time. There was no effect (P > 0.2) on BW, DMI, diarrhea outbreaks, nor plasma glucose concentration. Bacteria count showed absence of Salmonella and E. coli on feces. There was a time by treatment tendency (P < 0.11) on plasma NEFA concentration in which C had a plasma NEFA concentration of 269.4 and 209.2 µM for d 7 and 14 and SC had a 242.5 and 241.2 µM for d 7 and 14, respectively. The results showed that, under the current conditions, SCFP do not improve performance. The changes on plasma NEFA concentrations cannot be explained based on the performance results.

Key Words: prebiotic, health, dairy