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If we rely on data from the modern Caucasian tur, cattle herds can number more than 100 animals. But on modern farms today they often have several thousand dairy cows or fattening bulls. This is especially noticeable if you watch videos from the “meat” states of America, where no land is visible in the cattle pens. With such crowding, natural population regulation mechanisms begin to operate. Pathogenic bacteria actively multiply. Antibiotics for cattle help prevent outbreaks of epizootics on such large farms.
Areas of application of antibiotics for cattle
There are several reasons why antibiotics have become widespread in livestock farming:
- preventing the development of epizootics;
- prevention of the development of intestinal infections;
- as an adjuvant for secondary infections;
- growth stimulation;
- building muscle mass.
The antibiotics used today in calves for rapid growth are becoming obsolete. It is more effective and cheaper to use drugs that accelerate metabolism.
Feed antibiotics for cattle
The mechanism of action of antibiotics used for fattening cattle is to normalize the bacterial composition of the intestine. They inhibit toxin-producing bacteria that compete with normal physiological microflora. As a result, metabolism is normalized, immunity is strengthened, and feed digestibility is increased. All this contributes to the growth and development of young animals and increased productivity in adult cattle.
A decrease in productivity can be caused by “stall fatigue” if cattle are kept indoors on a farm without grazing. With a large population, such a room becomes contaminated with waste products very quickly, and it is not possible to carry out frequent disinfection. Because of this, pathogenic microorganisms multiply in the barn. Antibiotics do not stop their reproduction, but protect the animal from the penetration of bacteria into the intestines.
Thoughtless use of feed antibiotics will only cause harm; dosages must be observed, the correct diet must be prepared and animals must be kept in proper conditions.
The cow has milk on her tongue. If the technological conditions are met, the amount of production per unit of feed increases. For fattening bulls, the cost of production is reduced. The amount of feed antibiotics per ton of feed is small: 10-40 g of active substance. They arrive at farms in ready-to-eat form. Feed antibiotics include:
- mixed feed;
- vitamin and mineral premixes;
- protein and vitamin supplements;
- whole milk substitutes.
Private owners who are convinced that they do not use antibiotics, but feed these products to their animals, are deceiving themselves.
Feed antibiotics are supplied to farms only in this form, since special equipment is needed for accurate dosage and uniform distribution of the substance in the total mass of feed. They are not made or mixed “with their own hands”. Everything is done industrially. Only non-medical antibiotics are allowed to be added to feed in Russia and developed countries of the world.
Feed antibiotics do not impair the quality of meat and meat products. These substances are used until the end of fattening. In Russia, only 2 drugs are used to feed cattle: Grisin and Bacitracin.
Precautionary measures
To avoid antibiotics getting into food products, their use in animal husbandry is strictly regulated. Antibacterial drugs should not be added to the feed of breeding animals. When fattening for meat, feed with antibiotics is excluded from the diet one day before slaughter.
It is prohibited to independently add any biologically active additives, including antibiotics, to premixes, feeds and milk replacers, with the exception of Grisin and Bacitracin. The latter are already present in industrially produced feed. Any antibiotics should not be given to cattle without first mixing them with feed. Diet components containing feed antibiotic additives should not be heated above 80 °C.
Grizin
Grisinum is a streptothricin antibiotic. Outwardly it looks like a gray-white powder. The drug is easily soluble in water. Grizin has a wide spectrum of action, but its disadvantage is its weak activity. The drug is poorly absorbed in the intestinal tract. Grizin affects gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria.
The drug is used in the form of kormogrizin.Cormogrisin is not a pure antibiotic. This is the dried mycelium of a mold fungus, in addition to the antibiotic, containing:
- vital amino acids;
- vitamins;
- enzymes;
- pigments;
- other unidentified growth factors.
Due to the “impure” composition, kormogrisin is a brown or light yellow powder. Grizin content may vary. Dried mycelium contains 5, 10, or 40 mg/g of pure Grizin. The amount of Grizin is indicated on the packaging with mycelium. Bran and corn flour are used as fillers.
Grizin is added to milk replacer in an amount of 5 g per 1 ton. Premixes with Grizin are added to mixed feed at the rate of 10 kg per 1 ton.
Bacitracin
Bacitracinum is an antibiotic polypeptide. Its main part is bacitracin A. It appears as a gray-white powder. Let's dissolve well in water. The taste is bitter. Bacitracin acts on gram-positive, as well as aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. Gram-negatives are resistant to bacitracin.
Bacitracin is not absorbed from the intestinal tract and does not affect the response of gram-negative bacteria to other antibiotics. Has a pronounced growth-stimulating effect.
Bacitracin is produced in the form of Bacihilin. This drug is dark or light brown in color. The following are used as fillers in the preparation:
- soy flour;
- bran;
- corn flour;
- beet pulp.
Bacitracin is added to milk replacer at the rate of 50 g per 1 ton. In premixes - 10 kg per 1 ton of feed.
Bacteria have the ability to acquire resistance to antibacterial agents, therefore, in addition to the long-tested Grisin and Bacitracin, today the industry is mastering the production of other feed antibiotics.One of them, discovered more than half a century ago, is Vitaminicin. From discovery to industrial use, the drug undergoes long-term studies on the effects of the active substance on the body. Because of this, Vitaminicin is only now being launched into production.
Vitaminicin
The antibiotic suppresses:
- staphylococci;
- gram-positive bacteria;
- spore rods;
- some types of fungi;
- mycobacteria;
- spore rods.
It does not affect gram-negative bacteria.
The drug does not cause changes in internal organs even in doses 100 times higher than recommended.
Vitamincin also allows you to save feed, since this type of antibiotic is also given not in a chemically pure form, but together with dried fungal mycelium. When preparing roughage, a lot of vitamin A is lost. Since cattle are fed only hay, without green grass, in the winter-spring period, at this time there is a large deficiency of carotene in feed. Vitaminicin is able to provide 80% of the animals’ need for vitamin A. The rest must be “obtained” from hay and feed.
Cormarin
This is the dried mycelium and nutrient liquid on which the fungus grew. Cormarin suppresses the development of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and has an antimicrobial effect. But the drug does not work on other fungi and yeasts.
Contains a complex of active substances:
- B vitamins;
- hormone-like substances;
- amino acids;
- antibiotic;
- other growth factors.
The antibiotic activity of the original strain is low, but it can be changed by selecting the composition of the fermentation medium.
The use of Cormarin increases weight gain by 7-10% and increases the survival rate of young animals.By enhancing protein metabolism and better absorption of nutrients, it reduces the cost of protein feed and replenishes vitamin A deficiency.
Antibiotics for cattle growth
The list of antibiotics for the growth of calves practically coincides with the list of feed antibacterial substances for cattle. Since bacteria adapt to antibiotics, weight gain in bull calves began to decrease. This has led to the search for new growth stimulants that are no longer antibiotics. The use of antibacterial agents for the growth of calves today is more associated with the normalization of intestinal flora than with the desire to increase weight gain.
With prolonged diarrhea, the calf loses weight and slows down in development. If the form is advanced, the animal may die. In addition to Grisin and Bacitracin, antibiotics of the tetracycline group can be used when feeding calves. One of these drugs is the feed antibiotic Biovit-80.
Biovit-80
This is not an antibiotic in itself, but a drug made from the mycelium of a fungus belonging to the streptomycin group. The composition of the drug that I add to the food includes:
- chlortetracycline;
- vitamin B₁₂;
- other B vitamins;
- fats;
- proteins;
- enzymes.
The product looks like a loose powder of dark or light brown color and has a specific smell.
The growth-stimulating effect of Biovit-80 is based on the inhibition of the main microorganisms that cause stomach upset in the calf:
- salmonella;
- Leptospira;
- listeria;
- echeria;
- staphylococci;
- streptococci;
- enterobacteria;
- pasteurella;
- clostridium;
- mycoplasmas;
- chlamydia;
- Brucella;
- rickettsia;
- other gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.
But Biovit-80 is ineffective against fungi, acid-fast bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus. In cattle breeding, it is used for the prevention and treatment of not only gastrointestinal but also pulmonary diseases in calves.
Biovit-80 is safe for animals and helps to increase weight gain and milk yield in cattle. Since the maximum concentration of the drug in the blood lasts 8-12 hours after consumption, Biovit-80 is stopped giving to cattle 2 days before slaughter.
Levomycetin
Quite an old drug that people take lightly. For the slightest disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, advice should usually be taken to take Levomycetin, even if the disease is non-infectious. But this is a broad-spectrum product that is also used in raising cattle. Levomycetin inhibits the development of bacteria. Of the gram-positive ones, it affects streptococci and staphylococci. From gram-negative:
- salmonella;
- coli;
- Rickettsia.
Levomycetin has a wider range of effects on pathogenic bacteria for humans.
In addition to bacteria, Levomycetin can even destroy spirochetes and some large viruses. The drug is also active against strains resistant to streptomycin, sulfonamides and penicillin. Resistance of microorganisms to Levomycetin develops slowly.
This is generally a very strong and poisonous antibiotic, which is recommended for use when there is no other choice. It is used in case of severe illnesses. Against the backdrop of uncontrolled use of Levomycetin by people, fear of feed antibiotics looks far-fetched.
Neomycin
When breeding and raising cattle, most calves die as a result of colibacillosis.Antibiotics of the aminoglycoside group have been used for the treatment and prevention of gastrointestinal diseases in the United States since the 80s. One of these antibiotics is Neomycin.
The advantages of Neomycin are that it is almost not absorbed into tissues from the gastrointestinal tract. Due to this, in medicine it is used to sterilize the intestines before surgery. In livestock farming, Neomycin is used as a feed antibiotic that affects streptococci and staphylococci.
Antibiotics for cows against infections
The number of antibiotics used to treat infectious diseases is much wider. This use involves short-term use of the drug. By the time of slaughter, the antibiotic will have already been removed from the animal’s body. When treating a dairy cow, milk should not be consumed during treatment and for 10-14 days after the end of the antibiotic course.
The most common antibiotics for treating infections are:
- streptomycins;
- penicillins;
- tetracyclines.
The groups take their name from the first antibiotic and the fungi from which it was derived. But today, synthetic antibiotics also belonging to these groups are more common. Penicillins include the fairly popular Bicillin-5.
Streptomycin
Streptomycins for cattle include streptomycin sulfate and streptodymycin. Has a wide spectrum of action. It is used to treat:
- bronchopneumonia;
- pasteurellosis;
- salmonellosis;
- listeriosis;
- brucellosis;
- tularemia;
- infectious mastitis;
- sepsis;
- diseases of the genitourinary tract;
- other diseases.
The dosage is calculated per 1 kg of live weight. Apply subcutaneously.
The disadvantage of Streptomycin is that bacteria quickly become accustomed to the drug. Therefore, Streptomycin is not recommended for long-term use.
Streptodimycin is an analogue of Streptomycin in its spectrum of action, but animals tolerate this drug more easily. It is administered intramuscularly.
The course of treatment with both drugs is 3-5 days.
Tetracycline
Tetracyclines also have a wide spectrum of action. They act not only on most bacteria, but also on some types of protozoa. It is useless to use against paratyphoid pathogens.
Tetracyclines are well absorbed. They have the property of being evenly distributed in the tissues of the body. This group of antibiotics is excreted from the body through the kidneys, so they are most often used to treat genitourinary infections. They are slightly toxic to cattle, but can cause side effects in the gastrointestinal tract of cattle:
- atony;
- dysbacteriosis;
- violation of bacterial fermentation;
- avitaminosis.
The pure substance is a yellow crystalline powder. Requires storage in a dark place, as it is destroyed in the light.
Antibiotics of this group are prescribed for the treatment of:
- sepsis;
- listeriosis;
- purulent pleurisy;
- mastitis;
- hoof rot;
- peritonitis;
- urinary tract infections;
- conjunctivitis;
- inflammation of the mucous membranes;
- pasteurellosis;
- dyspepsia;
- colibacillosis;
- coccidiosis;
- pneumonia;
- other diseases whose pathogens are sensitive to tetracyclines.
The dose for cattle when taken orally is 10-20 mg/kg live weight.
Penicillin
The ancestor of all antibiotics, Penicillin, is no longer used today. The microflora managed to adapt to it. Bicillin-5 is a synthetic product composed of 2 substances of the penicillin group:
- benzathine benzylpenicillin;
- benzylpenicillin novocaine salt.
In the treatment of cattle, Bicillin is used for almost the same diseases for which tetracyclines and streptomycins are used. When selecting antibiotics, you need to pay attention to the animal’s reaction to the drug.
Bicillin dosage for cattle: adult animals – 10 thousand units. per 1 kg of weight; young animals – 15 thousand units. per 1 kg.
Penstrep
The name itself gives away the composition of the product: antibiotics of the penicillin and streptomycin groups. It is prescribed to cattle in case of illness:
- respiratory tract;
- listeriosis;
- septicemia;
- meningitis;
- salmonellosis;
- mastitis;
- secondary infections.
Penstrep is used intramuscularly in a dosage of 1 ml/25 kg of weight.
The product is produced in liquid form in 100 ml glass bottles. After a course of antibiotics, slaughter of cattle for meat is permitted only 23 days after the last injection.
Gentamicin
Belongs to the group of aminoglycoside antibiotics. Destroys most bacteria that cause disease, but is powerless against:
- mushrooms;
- protozoa;
- anaerobic bacteria (tetanus cannot be treated);
- viruses.
Used to treat gastrointestinal and respiratory tract diseases, sepsis, peritonitis and other diseases. When administered orally, it almost does not penetrate from the intestines into the tissues of the animal; for 12 hours it is active only in the gastrointestinal tract and is excreted along with feces. When injected, the maximum concentration in the blood occurs after 1 hour. When administered by injection, the antibiotic is excreted from the body along with urine.
Dosage for cattle: 0.5 ml per 10 kg of weight 2 times a day. Slaughter for meat is allowed only 3 weeks after the last injection. When using Gentamicin on dairy cattle, milk consumption is allowed only 3 days after the end of treatment.
Conclusion
Antibiotics for cattle are now an integral part of animal husbandry. The owner of a commercial farm, even if he is a staunch opponent of antibiotics, will sooner or later begin to use them in order not to lose income. Only a private livestock owner who keeps a cow for himself and is ready to slaughter the animal in case of a serious illness can afford to do without antibiotics.
