Feeding of Lactic Acid Bacteria and Yeast on Growth and Diarrhea of Holstein Calves

Neonatal diarrhea is the main cause of calf death and economically serious problem in the cattle industry. Probiotics are thought to be one of the technologies to solve the problem. The objective was to examine the effects of feeding of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) and yeast as probiotics for calves. Lactobacillus plantarum Chikuso-1, an inoculant for whole crop rice silage was used for LAB and Candida sp. CO119, isolated from bovine rectal content, was used for yeast. Eight six days old Holstein calves were divided into 2 groups, control and bacteria-fed. Bacteria-fed group received milk replacer containing Chikuso-1 and CO119 for 4 weeks, whereas no bacterial treatment in control group. Daily Gain (DG), dry matter intake, feed efficiency and fecal scoring were evaluated during experimental period. Inclusion of both bacteria significantly increased DG and feed efficiency and decreased fecal scoring. The present results suggest that the bacteria have probiotic abilities, which promote growth and suppress diarrhea in Holstein calves.