You might see it in the grocery dairy case, and you might even drink it yourself.
Kefir is a “drinkable yogurt,” that boasts the benefits of improved digestive health, thanks to its high probiotic content and positive gut microbiome influence, along with protein, vitamins, and minerals.
Now, calves can get on the kefir kick, too, as evidenced by research performed at the W.H. Miner Institute in Chazy, NY. Research scientist Sarah Morrison discussed the projects on a recent episode of The Dairy Podcast Show.
Morrison said she and her colleagues became interested in kefir for calves when they learned that some farms are already regularly creating and feeding it. From a practical standpoint, it is a low-cost, non-antibiotic approach to potentially supporting calf health and performance.
According to Morrison, kefir actually has ties to the realm of biofilms. Calf raisers tend to think of biofilms as bad things. But, Morrison explained, “bacteria in the wild create biofilms as their protective mechanisms.”
Those may be pathogenic bacteria, like the ones that create biofilm on calf-feeding equipment. But they also may be beneficial bacteria that can protect intestinal integrity and provide protection to calves against harmful bacteria.
Kefir is produced by starting with kefir “grains,” which are a matrix of bacteria and yeast held together by a biofilm called kefiran. These grains function as a starter culture when added to fresh milk. After the milk has fermented to the desired consistency and pH, the grains are removed and, with proper refrigeration storage, can be used indefinitely to make future batches of kefir.
“The fermented kefir contains lactic acid bacteria, yeast, and fungi that are all really good for the gastrointestinal tract,” Morrison explained. “These bacteria, yeast and fungi are associated with the intestinal lining, and that’s what competitively inhibits those negative bacteria that might be present.”
Morrison and her colleagues worked with two commercial dairies and the Miner Institute herd to evaluate the effects of kefir on calves. They fed a supplement of ¼ cup of kefir per calf per day for the first 21 days of life, and compared the performance of those calves to that of non-supplemented calves.
“We didn’t see any significant differences in health, but the interesting things that we did see was that as they were weaned, the kefir group consumed a total of about 6 pounds of starter per head more through the preweaning period than the control group,” said Morrison. “We were surprised to see that carryover from something that had ended three weeks earlier.”
In a follow-up study, they added rumen fluid sampling and intestinal permeability testing. Morrison said they saw no improvement in integrity of the GI tract, but the starter grain intake difference happened again. They are still analyzing the data from that group of calves to determine if that increased grain consumption led to higher weight gain before or after weaning.
While there are many commercial supplements that promote similar, positive effects on the gastrointestinal tract, Morrison said for some farms, homegrown kefir could fit neatly into their calf management and health program. “It depends on what you’re willing to manage and what works for you and your operation,” she stated. “There are many ways to get to the same result.”
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