Prevention of gastrointestinal diseases in piglets at weaning using probiotics Bacillus coagylans and Bacillus megaterium

Abstract

The aim of the study is to determine the preventive effect of the use of probiotics Bacillus coagulans and Bacillus megaterium in case of gastrointestinal diseases in piglets and as a potential strategy to reduce the misuse of antibiotics in monogastric animals by adding probiotics to the diet of pregnant sows and piglets in the period before and after weaning. Materials and methods. Three research groups were formed to study the preventive effect of probiotics of the genus Bacillus coagulans and Bacillus megaterium. The piglets of the first experimental group received probiotics at the rate of 0.4 kg per 1 ton of feed in the periods before and after weaning, and that is, the moment of the entire study, the second experimental group received probiotics in the period after weaning, before that they received milk from the sow. The third group was the control group, which received only milk from the sow, and fodder during the weaning period. The effectiveness of the prevention result was determined by the absence/presence of clinical signs of morbidity and % survival of animals during the study period. The results. It was established that the preservation of livestock in the 1st experimental group was 90 %, and in the 2nd group – 70 %, and control – 50 %. Conclusions. Research results show that probiotics of the genus Bacillus coagulans and Bacillus megaterium, the components of which provide a wide spectrum of antimicrobial activity, are a reliable preventive measure for gastrointestinal diseases in piglets.