Abstract Dietary, environmental, and physiological changes can challenge lamb health and performance during the feedlot transition. This study evaluated supplementation with a liquid direct-fed microbial (DFM; RSG Prime by BIO S.I.) on growth performance, fecal consistency, blood parameters, and fecal microbial populations in feedlot lambs fed a high-concentrate diet. A total of 72 Dorper × Katahdin lambs (60 d of age, initially 26.73 ±0.35 kg BW) were fed for 70 d at the Kansas State University Sheep and Meat Goat Center. Lambs were randomly assigned by initial BW to pens (3 lambs/pen) and allotted to one of two treatments with 12 replications per treatment. Treatments were 1) control (CON; no DFM) or 2) DFM supplementation (15 mL/head, drenched orally once daily at 08:00). The DFM contained Bacillus licheniformis (10 million CFU/mL), Bacillus subtilis (3.5 million CFU/mL), Lactobacillus acidophilus (3 million CFU/mL), and Bacillus pumilus (2 million CFU/mL). Lambs were weighed and feed disappearance was determined weekly to calculate average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), and gain-to-feed ratio (G:F). Feces were scored weekly by trained, independent scorers using a 5-point Likert scale. Blood and fecal samples were collected on d 0 and 21 from the same lamb per pen closest to the treatment average BW for analysis of serum biochemical markers and fecal microbial analysis using 16s sequencing. No evidence of a difference (P 0.05) was observed for ADG, ADFI, or G:F for the entire experiment. Treatment did not impact fecal scores statistically (P = 0.65); however, fecal consistency decreased over time (Day, P 0.0001). No significant treatment × day interactions were detected for blood variables (P ≥ 0.15). Serum calcium tended to be lower (P = 0.06) in lambs supplemented with a DFM. Albumin and anion gap decreased significantly from d 0 to 21 (P ≤ 0.01), while glucose, urea nitrogen, globulin, magnesium, and bicarbonate increased (P ≤ 0.03). Calcium and potassium tended to be greater in the control group (P ≥ 0.10). Relative abundance of several genera in the feces showed a significant treatment effect (P £ 0.05) There were statistically significant shifts (P ≤ 0.05) in fecal microbial populations from d 0 to 21. Opitutae, bifidobacteriales, treponema, and bifidobacterium showed treatment × day interactions (P ≤ 0.05). In summary, DFM supplementation did significantly alter growth performance or fecal consistency in feedlot lambs. Lambs supplemented with a DFM had alterations in health status as indicated by serum chemistry and changes in fecal microbial populations.
Kahler et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
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