Bio Minerals Technologies Food Grade BioProbiotics have proven very beneficial in hog operations. With the probiotics and trace minerals in their diet, the animals eat less, gain weight faster, have better breedback and higher weaning rates. In addition to the increased performance, the animals are simply healthier and stronger, and this is better for everyone.
2014 was marred by a Midwest outbreak of the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV). The virus is particularly destructive when it infects the nursery barns. The average nursery mortality is between 50-100%! Once a piglet contracts the virus, there is no cure, you just have to wait and see if the animal survives; most don't.
We had a large hog operation in the Midwest that had started using our probiotics, initially with their sows, expanding to their nursery and eventually to their finishers. The benefits of the probiotics were demonstrated at every level, both animal health and performance, and financial as well. When their neighbors started losing their nursery pigs to PEDV, our farmer did not lose any. In fact, with the probiotics, his overall nursery mortality rate was only 0.01%.
They started the probiotics with their sows. They mixed the liquid probiotics into the animal's feed at a rate of 1 oz/head/day. After 30 days, they observed a noticeable improvement in body condition. There were fewer light sows, so the animals required less extra feed. Overall, the feeding rates actually declined by an average of 1/2 lb of feed/sow/day, all while improving body condition! Less feed per day with improved condition translates directly into bottom-line cost savings, more than offsetting the small cost of the BioProbiotics.
Since the sows were so successful, they decided to apply the probiotics to the newborn piglets as well. They injected 5 ml orally, at birth, for each piglet. The result was an immediate reduction in scouring, and if a piglet did develop scours, an extra dose of probiotics cured it within 2 days. The overall nursery mortality rate fell to 0.01% (industry average of 3.9%). Their nursery did not get PEDV, even while all around them, many farms were losing all of their nursery pigs.
Finally, they introduced the probiotics into their finishing barns, at the same rate of 1 oz/head/day. The results were just as expected, based on the previous successes. The animal's rate of gain increased and the mortality decreased. They actually finished the hogs six days below the industry average, saving almost a week's worth of feed costs. The average finishing weight was also up slightly, about 3 lbs over average. You can see the results in the table below.
| Finishers | Industry Average | |
| Days on Feed | 117 days | 122.8 days |
| Average weight out | 275.52 lbs | 272.1 lbs |
| Mortality (%) | 3% | 5.04% |
| Rate of gain | 1.92 lbs/day | 1.81 lbs/day |
Again, the results convert directly through to the bottom line with lower mortality, faster weight gain, and fewer days on feed. These benefits are not unique. They happen every time.
We had another operation in Montana that had been using just the probiotics for a number of years. In 2018, they decided to add the trace minerals to the feed mix. The probiotics were being mixed at a rate of 1 quart per ton of feed. They added 1 lb of our dry Dynamin mineral supplement per ton of feed as well. With the addition of the trace minerals, the summer breedback and conception dramatically improved. Their wean rate increased from 11.7 per sow to 15.7 per sow, a 34% increase!
The cost is minimal, and the results are significant, both in production and in overall health. You can't afford not to use our Probiotics and Trace Minerals in your hog operations! Call us at 435-753-2086 and we can help you improve both your animal's health and your profits.