Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T20:26:05.996Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The effect of chlortetracycline on growth of early-weaned calves

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 1959

T. R. Preston
Affiliation:
The Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeenshire
N. A. McLeod
Affiliation:
The Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeenshire
P. K. Dinda
Affiliation:
The Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeenshire
Get access

Extract

1. Twenty-eight calves fed reconstituted buttermilk for 20 days and then concentrates, hay and water were allocated to 4 treatments consisting of the addition of chlortetracycline to both the buttermilk and the concentrate mixture, to the buttermilk alone, to the concentrates alone, or to neither.

2. Live-weight gains from 3 to 28 days and the incidence of scouring were not affected significantly by any of the treatments.

3. The addition of chlortetracycline to the concentrate mixture increased significantly: (a) rate of live-weight gain from 28 to 56 days and from 56 o t 84 days: (b) skeletal growth from 3 to 84 days: (c) the consumption of concentrates from 14 to 56 and from 14 to 84 days; and (d) the concentrate conversion rate.

4. The addition of chlortetracycline to the buttermilk had no significant effect on any of the above measurements neither did it make any significant difference to the effect of adding chlortetracycline to the concentrate mixture.

5. There was a direct relationship between quantity of concentrates consumed on the one hand, and rate of live-weight gain and efficiency of conversion of the concentrate, on the other. None of the treatment effects was significant after the data were corrected for differences in the quantities of concentrates consumed.

6. From the results of this experiment and from evidence in the literature it is postulated that one of the effects of feeding antibiotics to calves is to reduce the fermentative activity of rumen bacteria and consequently the amount of gas produced in the rumen, the net result being that the antibiotic-fed animal eats more food and hence grows more quickly.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1959

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Armstrong, D. G., Blaxter, K. L., & Graham, N. McC, 1957. Utilisation of the end products of rumen digestion. Proc. Brit. Soc. Anim. Prod., 1957: 3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrentine, B. F., Shawver, C. B., & Williams, L. W., 1956. Antibiotics for the prevention of bloat in cattle grazing Ladino clover. J. Anim. Sci., 15: 440.Google Scholar
Bloom, S., & Knodt, C. B., 1952. The value of aureomycin and B12 in milk replacement formulas for dairy calves. J. Dairy Sci., 35: 910.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chance, C. M., Smith, C. K., Huffman, C. F., & Duncan, C. W., 1953a. Antibiotics in rumen digestion and synthesis. III. The effect of aureomycin on rumen microorganisms, with special reference to the Streptococci and Coliform groups. J. Dairy Sci., 36: 743.Google Scholar
Chance, C. M., Duncan, C. W., Huffman, C. F., & Leucke, R. W., 1953b. Antibiotics in rumen digestion and synthesis. II. The effect of aureomycin on the concentration of some amino acids and B vitamins in the rumen. J. Dairy Sci., 36: 495.Google Scholar
Hibbs, J. W., COnrad, H. R., & Pounden, W. D., 1952. Changes in the blood sugar level and volatile fatty acid content of the rumen juice in calves raised on the high roughage system. J. Anim. Sci., 11: 764. (Soc. Proc.)Google Scholar
Hibbs, J. W., Conrad, H. R., & Pounden, W. D., 1954. A high roughage system for raising calves based on the early development of rumen function. V. Some effects of feeding aureomycin with different ratios of hay to grain. J. Dairy Sci., 37: 724.Google Scholar
Johns, A. T., Mangan, J. L., & Reid, C. S. W., 1957. Bloat. N.Z. vet. J., 5: 115.Google Scholar
Jurtshuk, P. (Jr.), Doetsch, R. N., Mcneill, J. J., & Shaw, J. C, 1954. In vitro studies of the effect of aureomycin and terramycin on mixed suspensions of bovine rumen bacteria. J. Dairy Sci., 37: 1466.Google Scholar
Kesler, E. M., & Knodt, C. B., 1952. Effect of terramycin on growth and rumen function in Holstein calves. J. Anim. Sci., 11: 768. (Soc. Proc.)Google Scholar
Lassiter, C. A., 1955. Antibiotics as growth stimulants for dairy cattle: a review. J. Dairy Sci., 38: 1102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lassiter, C. A., Denton, T. W., Davis, C. L., & Taylor, J. A., 1954. The effect of various surfactants and aureomycin on the digestibility of feed nutrients by dairy steers. J. Anim. Sci., 31: 991. (Soc. Proc.).Google Scholar
Lodge, J. R., Miles, J. T., & Jacobson, N. L., 1954. The effect of aureomycin feeding to dairy cattle on the in vitro digestion of cellulose by the rumen microorganisms. J. Dairy Sci., 37: 663. (Soc. Proc.)Google Scholar
Mann, S. O., Masson, F. M., & Oxford, A. E., 1954. Effect of feeding aureomycin to calves upon the establishment of their normal rumen micoflora and microfauna. Brit. J. Nutr., 8: 246.Google Scholar
Murley, W. R., Allen, R. S., & Jacobson, N. L., 1951. The effect of aureomycin on feed nutrient utilisation by young dairy calves. J. Anim. Sci., 10: 1057. (Soc. Proc.)Google Scholar
Porter, J. W. G., 1957. Antibiotics as dietary supplements in ruminants and other herbivores. Vet. Rec., 69: 250.Google Scholar
Preston, T. R., 1956. Studies on the rearing of calves weaned from milk between two and four weeks of age. Proc. Brit. Soc. Anim. Prod., 1956: 67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Preston, T. R., 1958. The value of rumen inocualations and of diets containing sweetening agents for calves weaned on to dry food at three weeks of age. Proc. Brit. Soc. Anim. Prod., 1958: 33.Google Scholar
Preston, T. R., McLeod, N. A., & Dinda, P. K., 1958. Unpublished data.Google Scholar
Radission, J. J., Bartley, E. E., Fountaine, F. C., & Atkeson, F. W., 1953. Effect of aureomycin and/or grass juice concentrate on cellulose digestion in an artifical rumen, as influenced by different sources of nutrient. J. Anim. Sci., 12: 929. (Soc. Proc.)Google Scholar
Taylor, J. H., 1957. The mode of action of antibiotics in promoting animal growth. Vet. Rec, 69: 278.Google Scholar
Thompson, C. M., & Grainger, R. B., 1954. Effect of aureomycin on digestion of low quality roughage by sheep. J. Anim. Sci., 13: 1002. (Soc. Proc.)Google Scholar
Tillman, A. D., & MacVicar, R., 1956. The effect of chlortetracycline upon digestion of ration components retention of nitrogen and volume of urine excreted by sheep with observations on rectal temperatures. J. Anim. Sci., 15: 211.Google Scholar