health and productivity of food animal species. Such solu- tions include the use of probiotics, a health-boost option which has been extensively tested in recent years. A key study that was carried out in Europe assessed the impact of giving does and weanling rabbits the probiotic yeast Actisaf Sc 47 as a dietary supplement. Fed at a 0.15% level of inclu- sion (7.5 10⁹ CFU/kg of complete feed), the supplement was evaluated according to how much it helped boost the trial animals’ zootechnical performance. Trials involved 40 does and their 185 weanlings. Animals were randomly divided into
Figure 2 - Mortality rate during the fattening period.
10 15 20 25 30 35 40
0 5
Control ** p<0.01 36
** 7
Actisaf® SC 47
two groups. The probiotic yeast was included in doe and weanling diets as part of a trial involving 20 does and their 93 weanlings. The control group, which did not receive any diet supplementation, contained 20 does and their 92 wean- lings. Judged on pre-weaning performance, the probiotic yeast achieved a 37-gram boost to the weight of kits com- pared to the control group. Litter size was also higher by 0.05 per litter for the Actisaf Sc 47 group compared to the control group. These results were recorded at weaning when the kits were four weeks old. Looking at fattening performance, which was recorded when kits were 10 weeks old, the Actisaf Sc 47 weanlings had an average daily weight gain advantage of 1.7 grams compared to the control group, resulting in a significant total weight advantage for the Actisaf Sc 47 group of 87 grams at the end of the fattening period (Fig- ure 1). Mortality levels (Figure 2) for the Actisaf Sc 47 wean- lings (4/93), meanwhile, were significantly lower than in the control group (19/93), helping to secure a minimum return on investment of 2:1. This was due to the Actisaf Sc 47 group being calculated as producing one kit per litter per year more than the control group, alongside cost savings due to the fact that less money was spent by farmers to boost the nutrition of does.
References are available from the authors on request. ▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 28, No. 6, 2020 13
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