Cattle

At Birth

Rated by our customers

Fuel calf growth with our convenient nutritional supplement, specially tailored for farmers. Bursting with essential vitamins, minerals, and prebiotics, it kick-starts their journey, ensuring optimal absorption and paving the way for success. So unleash your calf’s potential from day one!

AVAILABLE SIZES :

30g Syringe (Pack of 25)

30g Syringe (Pack of 50)

Product Description

  • At Birth tubes are carefully crafted to foster a thriving gut microbiome in newborn calves. These specialised probiotic and prebiotic supplements contain live bacteria that shield against harmful pathogens, ensuring a healthy gut lining. By creating a favourable environment, they cultivate beneficial bacteria growth, guaranteeing optimum gut health right from the get-go.
  • By promoting a healthy gut microbiome and improving nutrient absorption, these syringes optimise the utilisation of nutrients from their diet.
  • At Birth tubes stimulate local immunity in the gut, triggering the production of chemical messengers that enhance immune responses throughout the calf’s body. This full support helps diminish infection risks and amplifies overall health and immunity in newborn calves.
  • Supplementing with probiotics and prebiotics, you can enhance the health and immunity of newborn calves without relying on antibiotics, which supports sustainable management of calf health
  • Administering At Birth Syringes is effortless and delivers immediate benefits to newborn calves. These syringes supply essential nutrients and energy during the crucial initial hours after birth, nurturing healthy development and helping to establish a strong foundation for long-term well-being.

Choose At Birth Syringes for a Strong Start to New-born Calf Health

With At Birth Syringes, you can give your newborn calves the best beginning for a healthy life. These specialised probiotic and prebiotic supplements are expertly formulated to support their well-being from day one. Promoting a thriving gut microbiome and providing essential nutrients, At Birth Syringes help your calves reach their full potential. So start their journey and set the stage for a robust and thriving herd.

Technical Information

Securing the Future of Your Herd: Promoting Gut Health in Young Calves from Day One

 

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) poses a significant threat to animal and human health globally, leading to substantial social and economic burdens (WHO, 2019). In the EU alone, AMR is responsible for an estimated 33,000 deaths annually, resulting in healthcare costs and productivity losses of 1.5 billion euros annually (EC, 2018). To combat this crisis, the European “One Health Action Plan” advocates for a holistic “One Health” approach that recognises the interconnectedness between human health, animal health, and the environment (EC, 2017).

 

The overuse of antibiotics contributes to the development of AMR (FAO, 2018). Moreover, broad-spectrum oral antibiotics can indiscriminately impact harmful pathogens and beneficial commensal bacteria, reducing gut microbiome diversity and function (Jernberg et al., 2010). This is known as a “subtractive approach” to the gut microbiome. In contrast, probiotics can be seen as an “additive approach, “ which involves introducing beneficial organisms to the gut (Sanders et al., 2018).

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Probiotics contain live bacteria that prevent pathogens from adhering to the gut lining, produce natural antimicrobial substances called bacteriocins to eliminate them, and fortify the gut wall against pathogens. They also stimulate local immunity in the gut and release chemical messengers that enhance local immunity and antibody formation in other body parts. In addition, Prebiotics, such as fructooligosaccharides (FOS), promote the growth of beneficial commensal bacteria in the intestine, resulting in a healthier gut and increased immunity (Budden et al., 2017).

 

Probiotics offer a valuable alternative to antibiotics in addressing the AMR threat, which is recognised as a significant global concern for animal and human health (World Health Organization, 2015). Probiotics help restore microbiome balance, strengthen the immune system, and mitigate the development of antimicrobial resistance (Oliveira et al., 2019; Turner et al., 2019). The gut microbiome, consisting of a diverse population of beneficial organisms, plays a critical role in the body’s immune system (Bienenstock et al., 2013). Probiotics and prebiotics have emerged as promising alternative antibiotics to promote healthy gut microbiota and immune function in newborns and calves. They can help reduce the incidence of infections, improve weight gain, and enhance the overall health and immunity of newborn animals without antibiotics (Maddox et al., 2019).

 

Newborn animals have an underdeveloped gut microbiome, making them highly susceptible to infections. Germ-free animals exhibit lower immunity and increased susceptibility to diseases, underscoring the importance of gut commensal bacteria in maintaining a fully functional immune system (Budden et al., 2017). Studies have demonstrated that an imbalanced gut microbiome, characterised by dysbiosis between beneficial and pathogenic organisms, reduces immunity and disease susceptibility (Turner et al., 2019). Probiotics also release natural substances, like bacteriocins, which can eliminate invading pathogenic bacteria and prevent the attachment of harmful E. coli to the gut lining (Lebeer et al., 2018). Research has further revealed that probiotics significantly enhance immunity and promote the production of natural protective immunoglobulins (Sanders et al., 2018).

 

Supplementing newborn calves’ diet with probiotics and prebiotics enhances immunity and helps prevent E. coli infections (Oliveira et al., 2019). The commensal organisms in the gut operate a signalling system that boosts heart and organ immunity, such as the lungs (Sunkara et al., 2011; Bienenstock et al., 2013). Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) produced by gut commensals strengthen gut defences, reinforce tight junctions, produce local antibodies, and travel to other organs, particularly the lungs, enhancing local defences and immunity (Bienenstock et al., 2013). Probiotics, with their live bacterial organisms, prevent pathogen adherence to the gut lining, eliminate them using natural antimicrobial substances, and fortify the gut barrier against pathogens. They also stimulate local immune responses in the gut and release chemical messengers that enhance local immunity and promote the formation of antibodies (Bienenstock et al., 2013). Prebiotics, such as fructooligosaccharides (FOS), indirectly promote the growth of beneficial commensal bacteria in the intestine, leading to a healthier gut and improved immunity (Budden et al., 2017).

 

Research has shown that supplementing the diet of newborn dairy calves with prebiotics improves the abundance and diversity of beneficial gut bacteria, reduces potentially harmful bacteria, and positively influences immune function (Meehan et al., 2021). Similarly, probiotic supplementation in newborn lambs and calves has been demonstrated to enhance immune function and reduce the incidence of diarrhoea (Firth et al., 2019; Oliveira et al., 2018). Probiotics and prebiotics represent effective strategies for establishing a healthy gut microbiome and promoting immune function in newborn animals.

Additional Information

Citations

  • Bienenstock, J., Kunze, W., & Forsythe, P. (2013). “Microbiota and the gut-brain axis.” Nutrition Reviews, 71(Suppl 1), S1-S7.
  • Budden, K. F., Gellatly, S. L., Wood, D. L., Cooper, M. A., Morrison, M., Hugenholtz, P., & Hansbro, P. M. (2017). Emerging pathogenic links between microbiota and the gut–lung axis. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 15(1), 55-63.
  • European Commission (2017). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the EU One Health Action Plan against Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52017DC0339.
  • European Commission (2018). Special Eurobarometer 478. Antimicrobial Resistance. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/default/files/antimicrobial_resistance/docs/ebs_478_en.pdf 
  • FAO (2018). Antimicrobial Resistance. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/antimicrobial-resistance/en/.
  • Firth, M. J., Hunter, M. G., & Sutherland, M. A. (2019). Probiotic supplementation reduces calf morbidity and mortality caused by scours in intensively managed dairy herds. Journal of Dairy Science, 102(5), 4075-4088.
  • Firth, M.J., Hopkins, B.A., Hill, T.M., Davidson, S., & Moraes, L.E. (2019). “Effects of oral supplementation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae on gut barrier function, intestinal microbiota, and performance of pre-weaned dairy calves.” Journal of Dairy Science, 102(9), 8120-8132.
  • Jernberg, C., Löfmark, S., Edlund, C., & Jansson, J. K. (2010). Long-term impacts of antibiotic exposure on the human intestinal microbiota. Microbiology, 156(11), 3216-3223.
  • Lebeer, S., Vanderleyden, J., & De Keersmaecker, S. C. (2018). Host interactions of probiotic bacterial surface molecules: comparison with commensals and pathogens. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 16(3), 171-184.
  • Lebeer, S., Vanderleyden, J., & De Keersmaecker, S.C.J. (2018). “Genes and molecules of lactobacilli supporting probiotic action.” Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, 82(4), e00003-18.
  • Maddox, T. W., Atemkeng, N., Singh, B., & Jones, L. A. (2019). The effects of a novel early-life nutrition program on the health and performance of neonatal calves. Journal of Dairy Science, 102(9), 8151-8161.
  • Maddox, T.W., Drouillard, J.S., & Loy, D.D. (2019). “The role of nutrition in the gut microbiome of ruminants.” Animal Frontiers, 9(4), 22-29.
  • Meehan, C.L., Wells, J.E., Hawkins, C.D., & Roy, N.C. (2021). “Prebiotics in neonatal dairy calves: Effects on faecal bacterial community composition and functional gene abundance.” Journal of Dairy Science, 104(2), 2113-2126.
  • Oliveira, D. D., Freitas Neto, O. C., & Santana, R. A. (2018). Probiotics in the diet of dairy calves: effects on health, growth, and the immune system. Semina: Ciências Agrárias, 39(1), 243-258.
  • Oliveira, D. D., Stodola, F. H., & Lima, S. F. (2019). Use of probiotics in the diet of dairy calves: impact on rumen and faecal microbiota. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 6, 123.
  • Oliveira, M.N., Takiya, C.S., Santana, M.H.A., Pereira, L.G.R., Santos, E.M., & Pires, A.V. (2018). “Influence of live yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) supplementation on the performance and health status of pre-weaned calves.” Animal Feed Science and Technology, 236, 90-96.
  • Sanders, M. E., Merenstein, D. J., Ouwehand, A. C., Reid, G., Salminen, S., Cabana, M. D., … & Gibson, G. R. (2018). Probiotic use in at-risk populations. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 58(3), 254-261.
  • Sunkara, L.T., Zeng, X., Curtis, A.R., & Zhang, G. (2011). “Cyclic AMP induces transcriptional activation of the genes encoding the human NKG2D ligands MICA and MICB via the cAMP response element binding protein.” Molecular and Cellular Biology, 31(13), 2924-2934.

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Our products have been approved according to Department of Agriculture standards in UK and Ireland, as well as EU regulations.

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