The effect of feeding egg yolk multi- antibodies on growth performance, some blood parameters and feces microbial culture in suckling Holstein calves

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Omid Bouzari
• Armin Towhidi
• Mahdi Zhandi
• Mohammadhosein Moazeni Zadeh

Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran.

Abstract

Keywords

• health
• immunity
• immunoglobulin Y
• suckling calf

Main Subjects

• Animal Physiology

Extended Abstract

Introduction

Diarrhea in premature calves is one of the most challenging clinical syndromes. It causes the death of calves within a few days after birth, leading to significant economic losses in the industry. This disease usually occurs in calves aged 2 to 8 weeks, and its severity decreases with age. Immunoglobulin Y (IgY) has been proposed as an alternative strategy to antibiotics for the prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal tract infections through oral passive immunization. Despite research on egg yolk immunoglobulin (IgY), there are no reports evaluating the performance of multi-immunoglobulin Y and its effect on diarrhea in calves. Therefore, this research aimed to evaluate the effect of supplemental nutrition containing various egg yolk antibodies (against bovine rotaviruses, coronaviruses, Clostridium perfringens, and Escherichia coli) on weight, skeletal growth (withers height, hip height, hip width, and heart girth), daily weight gain, dry matter intake, feed efficiency, hematological parameters (white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets, percentage of basophils, neutrophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes, monocytes and red blood cell indices such as hemoglobin and packed cell volume), fecal microbial culture (Escherichia coli, coliforms, Lactobacillus), and health indicators (feces score, diarrhea duration, and body temperature), and the prevalence of diarrhea in nursing Holstein calves.

Materials & Methods

 Forty-eight Holstein calves with an average weight of 43.03 lbs were selected and kept for 28 days in individual stalls under a strict management program. Body weight was measured every seven days, and dry matter intake and health status were measured daily. On days 1, 7, 14, 21, and 28, blood samples were taken, kept at 4°C until reaching the laboratory, and then blood parameters were measured. Fecal samples were taken for microbial culture on day 28 and cultured in the laboratory.

Results

 The results showed that body weight, daily weight gain, dry matter intake, and feed efficiency of calves increased in the experimental groups (P < 0.05). Skeletal growth parameters (withers height, hip height, hip width, and heart girth), some hematological parameters, and fecal microbial culture parameters were not affected by the treatments. The experimental treatments decreased the feces score, diarrhea duration, and body temperature in calves (P < 0.05). 

Conclusion

The present findings showed that preventing diarrhea from birth to 28 days can increase the calves' final weight at 28 days by increasing immunity and reducing diarrhea. Also, preventing diarrhea in the first seven days increased dry matter intake in the egg yolk immunoglobulin supplement-consuming group. Feeding a combination of probiotics and egg yolk antibody has a synergistic effect on reducing pathogens such as Escherichia coli and preventing diarrhea in newborn calves. The decrease in body temperature after taking the egg yolk immunoglobulin supplement can be related to its preventive effect on diarrhea.