Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXV, Issue 2
Written by Daniela Mihaela GRIGORE, Elena IRIMIA, Ioana NICOLAE, Dinu GAVOJDIAN
The aim of the current study was to evaluate the effects of multi-strain probiotic administration on dairy and crossbreed calves’ growth performances and health status. The calves were homogeneously assigned into four groups, as follows: dairy experimental (Ed, n=12), dairy control (Cd, n=12), crossbreed experimental (Ec, n=6) and crossbreed control (Cc, n=6). All calves were managed identically, being housed individually, with the experimental groups receiving 2 ml of multi-strain probiotic (Enterococcus faecium and Lactobacillus plantarum) per day. Blood sampling and growth performance were assessed at 1st, 14th and 28th days of the trial. Probiotic supplementation had no significant effects on hematologic profile (P>0.05). However, serum blood glucose and total cholesterol were significantly lowered (P<0.05) in the probiotic treated groups. Multistrain probiotic administration had significant effects on calves (P<0.05), improving the weight gain of both dairy and crossbreed groups (Ed and Ec) compared with control groups (Cd and C2), at the end of the trial. Current results suggest that multi-strain probiotics support calves early-stage development.
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