bambermycins and Weight-Gain

Routine use of the antibiotic flavomycin in broiler production may lead to resistance, and alternative growth promoters are used to enhance performance. Two hundred day-old male Ross 308 broiler chicks were allocated to five dietary supplements included from d 1-42: flavomycin, three possible alternatives, a probiotic, prebiotic and a synbiotic, as well as a control treatment. There were four replicate cages of 10 birds each in each treatment. Compared with the control and antibiotics treatments, the probiotic, prebiotic and synbiotic treatments increased (p = 0.001) weight gain (64, 66, 73, 70 and 74 g/d, respectively). The synbiotic treatment reduced (p = 0.004) the feed conversion ratio, compared with the control and antibiotic treatments (1.70, 1.84, 1.83, respectively). Compared with the control and antibiotic treatments, the birds fed the synbiotic treatment had greater relative gizzard (+47%) and spleen weights (+115%), and lighter kidneys (-47%). The birds fed the symbiotic treatment also had thinner walls of the caudal gut segments. The prebiotic had the most beneficial effect on cecal microbiota, stimulating aerobic and lactic acid producing bacteria and reducing Escherichia coli bacteria. Enterococci were increased in the antibiotic treatment. We conclude that there were significant performance and health benefits of using prebiotics, probiotics and synbiotics for broilers, rather than antibiotics.

Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bambermycins; Blood; Blood Chemical Analysis; Chickens; Diet; Dietary Supplements; Male; Prebiotics; Probiotics; Random Allocation; Synbiotics; Weight Gain

A study on turkeys was conducted to evaluate the administration of different levels of mannan-oligosaccharide (MOS) (0.1, 0.25 and 0.5%) to a diet without or with an antibiotic (Flavomycin, 8 mg/kg feed). The growth performance as well as caecal development and metabolism indicators of turkeys after 8 weeks of experimental feeding were estimated. No interactions were noted between the contents of antibiotic and MOS in the diet in any of the parameters examined. During 8 weeks of experimental feeding, the feed intake as well as feed conversion ratio were similar in all experimental groups. The turkeys fed a control diet (without MOS) supplemented with antibiotic were the heaviest, but there were no statistical differences between groups. Depending on dietary dose, MOS had a different influence on caecal digesta parameters. The medium level of dietary MOS (0.25%) resulted in the highest caecal pH, dry matter and protein concentrations as well as the bacterial glycolytic activity (including beta-glucuronidase). Compared to other dietary treatments, the highest amount of MOS (0.5%) reduced ammonia concentration and enhanced volatile fatty acids concentration, especially of acetate and butyrate, in the caecal digesta. The medium level of dietary MOS caused a significant enhancement of propionate, iso-butyrate and iso-valerate concentrations in the digesta. The antibiotic addition to a diet resulted in a lack of birds' response.

Topics: Adaptation, Physiological; Animal Feed; Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bambermycins; Cecum; Dietary Supplements; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Fatty Acids, Volatile; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Mannans; Oligosaccharides; Random Allocation; Turkeys; Weight Gain

A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of mannanoligosaccharides (MOS), bambermycins (BAM), and virginiamycin (VIR) on the growth performance of male turkeys. Hybrid Large White male poults were assigned to six dietary treatments: control, MOS, BAM, VIR, MOS+BAM (MB), and MOS+VIR (MV). All diets were formulated to meet NRC (1994) nutrient requirements. There were eight replicate floor pens per treatment with 20 birds per pen reared from 1 to 140 d. Body weight and feed conversion (FC) were collected at 3-wk intervals and at 20 wk of age. Mortality and culled birds were recorded daily. All treatments except MV significantly (P < 0.05) increased 20 wk BW. Body weight was increased at 12 wk by BAM, whereas VIR increased BW at Weeks 12 and 15. All treatments improved FC for Weeks 0 to 3, whereas VIR, MB, and MV improved FC for Weeks 0 to 12 and 0 to 18. There were no treatment effects on cumulative mortality or cull rate. Dietary supplemental MOS, BAM, and VIR resulted in improved growth performance of Large White turkeys. These results indicate that MOS may be utilized as an alternative to antibiotic growth promotants to improve turkey performance.

Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bambermycins; Body Weight; Dietary Supplements; Energy Metabolism; Male; Mannose; Oligosaccharides; Random Allocation; Turkeys; Virginiamycin; Weight Gain

The objective of the study was to determine the effects of two enzyme preparations containing beta-glucanase and xylanase activities on barley- and wheat-based diets, respectively, for broilers, in combination with flavomycin. In addition, the stability of the enzyme preparations after pelleting was measured. Temperatures recorded during the pelleting process reached 75 to 80 C, and the activities recovered with respect to the amounts present in the mash feed before pelleting were 80% or higher. Two performance experiments were conducted simultaneously under the same conditions over 6 wk. In addition, intestinal viscosity and incidence of vent pasting were measured and carcasses were eviscerated to determine abdominal fat, carcass yield, and percentage weight of intestines and viscera. Twenty-four pens (12 per sex), each containing 75 chickens were used in each experiment. Wheat- or barley-based diets were supplemented with flavomycin and a xylanase or a beta-glucanase preparation, respectively, in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments. In the wheat diets, xylanase and flavomycin improved feed efficiency, in parallel with a reduction of intestinal viscosity. Xylanase reduced the incidence of vent pasting and the percentage viscera, especially of intestines, and increased abdominal fat. In the barley diets, beta-glucanase and flavomycin improved feed conversion. beta-Glucanase also reduced intestinal viscosity and vent pasting. Both beta-glucanase and flavomycin reduced percentage intestines, but the effects were not additive. In general, the effects of the enzyme preparations and flavomycin were independent, except for percentage intestines with beta-glucanase.

Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bambermycins; Body Composition; Body Weight; Cellulase; Chickens; Dietary Supplements; Eating; Female; Food Analysis; Gastrointestinal Motility; Glycoside Hydrolases; Hordeum; Intestines; Male; Meat; Temperature; Triticum; Weight Gain; Xylan Endo-1,3-beta-Xylosidase; Xylosidases

The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of dietary flavophospholipol ("Bambermycin") levels on the growth performance in 400 hybrid rabbits from weaning at 28 days until slaughter at 74 days of age. The fryers were randomly assigned to one of the four dietary treatments that consisted of either 0, 4, 8 or 16 ppm supplemental flavophospholipol. Each treatment was applied to 100 animals each. Dietary treatments exerted no significant effects on live weight, daily weight gain and feed consumption across the entire fattening period. However, daily weight gains in treated fryers were increased by 2.4% on the average. The only significant treatment effect was found in feed conversion (food/gain) in fryers fed 16 ppm supplementation; kilogram food intake per kilogram weight gain was reduced by 0.16 kg as compared to the control group. Mean feed conversion in treated groups was improved by 3.5% on the average. In addition of flavophospholipol a significantly decreased mortality was observed. It was remarkable, that losses caused by infection in control were exclusively due to infections by Bordetella species, while the treated groups were only caused by Pasteurella species.

Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Bambermycins; Eating; Female; Food Additives; Male; Rabbits; Random Allocation; Weight Gain

An experiment with 36 fattening friesian bulls was conducted to investigate the effect of flavomycin (50 mg/d.animal). The additional flavomycin significantly enhanced the apparent digestibility of the organic matter, crude fibre and NFE. The animals in the experimental group consumed significantly more feed than the controls until the 56th day of the experiment. No appreciable differences between the two groups occurred thereafter. The daily gain of the animals in the experimental group was always higher than that of the controls except from day 140 to day 168 of the experiment. The mean daily gain for the animals in the control group was 949 g, whereas for those in the control group it was 916 g. This difference is statistically significant. The daily gains of the experimental animals were 3.5% higher than those of the controls. The animals receiving flavomycin tended to need a lower energy input than the controls. The control animals had a mean requirement of 3.80 kEFr/kg gain compared with 3.68 kEFr/kg for the experimental animals. This corresponds to a 3.2% improvement in energy conversion. As far as slaughter performance was concerned, the additional flavomycin had no effect on carcase composition, organ weight and chemical composition. Only the internal fat fraction was increased somewhat by flavomycin. The flavomycin had no influence on the fatty acid composition in the rumen. In particular, the ratio of acetic acid to propionic acid was unchanged. A trend to a slight increase in the total fatty acid concentration was observed. The treatment did not affect the number of protozoa in the rumen.

Topics: Adipose Tissue; Ammonia; Animal Feed; Animals; Bambermycins; Cattle; Digestion; Eating; Energy Intake; Eukaryota; Fatty Acids, Volatile; Male; Meat; Muscles; Rumen; Weight Gain

Three experiments with five wether each were carried out in order to investigate the influence of various levels of flavomycin (0, 5 and 10 mg per animal and day) on apparent digestibility of artificially dried grass. A short time individual feeding experiment (42 days) with 9 bulls and a long term individual feeding experiment (225 days) with 52 heifers were conducted. Animals consumed 0 or 30 mg flavomycin per day. Parameters of rumen fermentation were investigated. Feed intake and weight gain were measured in the experiment with heifers. Flavomycin did not significantly influence the apparent digestibility of organic matter and crude nutrients as well as parameters of rumen fermentation. Flavomycin did not influence dry matter intake, but increased significantly weight gain (49 g per animal and day, 10.5%) and reduced feed and energy required per kg weight gain (10.6%) in heifers. The reasons of ergotropic effects of flavomycin are mostly unknown at present.

Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Bambermycins; Cattle; Digestion; Eating; Energy Intake; Fatty Acids, Volatile; Female; Fermentation; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Male; Poaceae; Rumen; Sheep; Weight Gain

For 28 weeks a feeding experiment was conducted to determine the effects of dietary flavomycin on performance of beef bulls. In the first and second half of the trial, 40 animals (average initial weight 352 kg) had free access to corn silage or beet pulp, respectively, both supplemented with an appropriate concentrate containing 0 or 10 mg/kg of the antibiotic. Daily flavomycin intake was 39 to 46 mg when the animals were on the corn silage diet and 51 to 54 mg when they were fed the beet pulp diet. The animals fed the corn silage-based diet supplemented with flavomycin showed a non-significant improvement of daily gain (1.4%) and feed conversion (2.3%). When the beet pulp-based diet was fed, flavomycin significantly increased daily gain (15.2%, P less than 0.002) and feed conversion efficiency (9.1%, P less than 0.03). For the overall feeding experiment the positive effect of flavomycin feeding was 6.7% on body weight gain (P less than 0.09) and 5.2% on feed conversion (P less than 0.13). Flavomycin did not affect carcass yield of beef bulls. Also the effect of flavomycin on diet digestibility was studied in wethers fed a mixture of beet pulp and concentrate, containing 0 or 10 ppm flavomycin. No significant effect from the antibiotic on digestion of dry matter, crude protein, fibre, fat, ash and N-free extract was observed.

Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Bambermycins; Cattle; Digestion; Male; Sheep; Weight Gain

Two experiments, each involving a 3 x 2 factorial design, were conducted with Large White Nicholas turkeys. The first experiment involved three antibiotic treatments: an unmedicated control diet, the diet plus 44 ppm of penicillin-streptomycin (1:3), and the diet plus 44 ppm of Zn bacitracin; each diet was fed in the presence and absence of a dried Bacillus subtilis culture to females 0 to 16 wk of age. Antibiotic supplements increased body weight at 12 (P less than .05) and 16 (P less than .001) wk of age. Body weight and feed efficiency were not significantly affected by feeding the B. subtilis culture in this experiment. The dietary B. subtilis culture significantly increased B. subtilis counts in the crop and cecum but failed to influence intestinal Lactobacillus or Escherichia coli counts. The second experiment also involved three antibiotic treatments: an unmedicated control diet, 44 ppm of Zn-bacitracin, and 2.2 ppm of bambermycins, and each diet was fed in the presence and absence of the dried B. subtilis culture to male birds from 0 to 20 wk of age. Increased body weight gain was observed in birds receiving the B. subtilis culture at 12 wk (P less than .01). Feed efficiency of birds receiving the B. subtilis culture was improved (P less than .05) at 20 wk. Birds receiving bambermycins had greater body weights (P less than .05) at 12 and 16 wk of age than birds receiving Zn bacitracin or the control diet. Livability was not affected by the B. subtilis culture or the antibiotic treatments in either experiment.

Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Bacillus subtilis; Bacitracin; Bambermycins; Cecum; Crop, Avian; Escherichia coli; Female; Intestines; Lactobacillus; Male; Turkeys; Weight Gain

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the response of turkeys to graded levels of bambermycins++ in wheat-based diets. In one, 960 Medium White poults were fed 0,2,3, or 4 mg bambermycins per kg from day-old to 12 wk of age. In the other, 264 male and 408 female Large White poults were fed 0,2,5, or 10 mg bambermycins per kg from day-old to 15 (females) or 18 (males) wk of age. Response of Medium White poults increased with age, with significantly greater weight gain from 8 to 12 wk of age as well as final weights when the diet was supplemented with bambermycins. Large White poults responded with highly significant increases in gains from 0 to 4 and 4 to 8 wk of age, and a highly significant linear response to bambermycins in final weights. Although feed efficiency of Large White poults from 0 to 4 wk of age increased with bambermycins, overall efficiency in both trials decreased when the diets were supplemented. The earlier and greater response of Large White poults in comparison with birds of a Medium White strain may be related to the differing growth characteristics of those strains. The difference may also be related to the re-use of litter in the former trial. However, the effect of neither strain nor litter was determined within the same experiment.

Topics: Animals; Bambermycins; Female; Housing, Animal; Male; Turkeys; Weight Gain

The effects were examined of monensin and the bambermycins in feed on growing turkeys. The drugs were used alone and in combination. A total of 1,600 hen and tom turkeys were divided into 32 pens. Four treatments were used, including 45 or 90 g/ton (907 kg) monensin either to 10 wk of age or to market age with and without adding of 2 g/ton of bambermycins. Evaluation parameters, including body weight, feed efficiency, and mortality, were done at 6, 10, and 13 wk of age for hens and 6, 10, and 18 wk of age for toms. Adding bambermycins increased body weights of hens at 10 wk of age and toms at 6 and 10 wk of age. No differences among treatments were noted at market weight within any of the parameters studied. No differences among treatments were noted in efficiency or mortality by the conclusion of the trial.

Topics: Aminoglycosides; Analysis of Variance; Animal Feed; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bambermycins; Female; Male; Monensin; Random Allocation; Turkeys; Weight Gain

1. Two experiments were carried out to study the effects of diets containing various concentrations of pea meal (Pisum sativum L.), with or without flavomycin supplementation, on the performance and intestinal microflora of broiler chicks. 2. During the 7 to 28-d period, chicks fed on diets containing 300, 600 and 800 g pea meal/kg consumed more food and gained more weight than chicks receiving a maize-isolated soyabean protein control diet. The addition of flavomycin to the diets had similar effects on the performance of both the control and the pea groups. 3. Pea diets, with and without supplemental flavomycin, had little influence on the composition of intestinal microflora. The counts of enterococci in the small intestine and Clostridium perfringens and coliforms in the caeca of pea-fed chicks exceeded those of control chicks.

Topics: Aminoglycosides; Animal Feed; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bacteria; Bambermycins; Chickens; Dietary Proteins; Fabaceae; Intestines; Male; Plants, Medicinal; Weight Gain