Effect of Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus subtilis Supplementation of Ewe's Feed on Sheep Milk Production and Young Lamb Mortality

Abstract

The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate under field conditions the effect of a probiotic containing Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus subtilis on young lamb mortality and sheep milk production when administered in the late pregnancy and lactation feed of ewes. In a sheep farm, two groups of milking ewes with identical genetic material, management, nutrition, health status and similar production characteristics were formed. One group (46 ewes) served as control, while the other one (48 ewes) served as a probiotic-treated group. Both groups of ewes received a similar feeding regiment, but the ewes of the second group were additionally offered a probiotic product containing B. licheniformis and B. subtilis (BioPlus 2B, Chr. Hansen, Denmark) at the approximate dose of 2.56 x 10(9) viable spores per ewe per day. Lamb mortality during the 1.5 months suckling period, and milk yield during the 2 months of milk collection for commercial purposes have been recorded. In the non-treated control group, 13.1% mortality was observed versus 7.8% in the probiotic-treated group (P = 0.33), with mortality being mainly due to diarrhoea. Microbiological examination of diarrhoeic faeces from some of the dead lambs in both groups revealed the presence of Escherichia coli. The average daily milk yield per ewe was significantly lower in the control group (0.80 l) than that in the probiotic-treated group (0.93 l) (P < 0.05). Fat and protein content of milk in ewes that received probiotics was significantly (P < 0.05) increased compared with untreated ewes. It was concluded that supplementing ewe's feed with probiotics may have beneficial effect on subsequent milk yields, fat and protein content.

Effects of direct-fed microbials and their combinations with yeast culture on <i>in vitro</i> rumen fermentation characteristics

“…Milk yield and milk protein were also significantly increased by Bl (Qiao et al, 2010). Another study by Kritas et al (2006) in ewes treated with Bl combined with B. subtilis showed that milk yield, milk fat and protein were significantly improved compared to the controls.…”

Effects of Bacillus subtilis natto on milk production, rumen fermentation and ruminal microbiome of dairy cows

“…Many studies have demonstrated that B. subtilis has the potential to increase growth performance of pigs (Alexopoulos et al, 2004;Kritas and Morrison, 2005), chickens (Fritts et al, 2000) and calves (Jenny et al, 1991;Sun et al, 2010). Kritas et al (2006) reported that B. subtilis supplementation in ewe's feed increased average daily milk yield and milk fat and protein contents (Kritas et al, 2006). showed that B. subtilis natto fermentation product effectively increased lactation performance of early lactation dairy cows.…”

“…To date, only limited research relating to the dietary utilization of B. subtilis in ruminants has been completed (Jenny et al, 1991;Kritas et al, 2006), and studies have seldom evaluated the effect of feeding B. subtilis natto on ruminal microbial fermentation in dairy cows. Available results from in vitro studies have shown that B. subtilis natto has beneficial effects on the growth of some anaerobic microorganisms, such as Lactobacillus sp.…”

Evaluation of the Effect of Probiotic Administration on Gene Expression in Goat Blood

“…Probiotics have been used to modulate gastrointestinal health such as improving lactose intolerance, increasing natural resistance to infectious diseases in the gastrointestinal tract, suppressing travelers' diarrhea and reducing bloating (Liong, 2007). Supplementing animal feed with probiotic has shown to have a beneficial effect on milk yield, fat and protein content (Kritas et al, 2006). In a previous work done by our research team, we reported the effect of oral administration of probiotics stimulated the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines .…”