do probiotics work for weight gain

I would get probiotics...I wouldn't use yogourt...just not enough colony count wise...that being said....They keep the gut healthy....good bacteria helps to break down the feed and so there is greater absorption of the nutrients....so indirectly....yes you get weight gain.

Look at some of the posted studies of Hog Doc's TrueGlo on his website---he has worked a lot with probiotics and has some good stuff in this supplement...I think he also works with probiotics stuff & feed yards for cattle, etc.

Like mtbkmom said I sell various probiotics so there are two sides to listening to me. On one hand I have studied the science about as much as anyone around. On the other hand I have a vested interest in this technology.

Just quickly on terminology probiotics or direct fed microbials are live bacteria that are fed to improve gut health. They are mostly lactic acid bacteria. Prebiotics are things like MOS that serve as a food source for good bacteria. Synbiotics are feed additives that contain both probiotics and prebiotics. TrueGlo is actually a synbiotic since it contains both.

If you look at a large numbers of trials for prebiotics, probiotics and synbiotics the range in improvement in gain is 0 to 31%. The average improvement in gain from all these trials is around 6%. The observation I make from the studies is that the more the immune system is activated in the trial pigs the more improvement the trial will demonstrate.

Given that the average show pig has much more immune stimulation than the average conventionally raised pig what you can expect is an improvement higher than 6%.

That was probably more information than you wanted so here is the bottom line, In the controlled studies we have done when we try and simulate a show pig environment on average we measure about a 10% improvement in growth rate.

We are going to release a summary of some trial results later today or tomorrow on our blog. This trial was a group of pigs that we challenged with scours.

Let me ask...with a "litter of piglets" on self feed

1) in process of weaning
2) weaned and self feeding

How much TrueGlo do you throw on top of their self feeding feeder for the litter of around 10?

I just put 1/2 scoop on the prestarter at 7 days to 21 days; 1 scoop twice a day when little(3-6 weeks) and when they got 6 weeks and older I put 2 scoops twice a day...Does that sound about right?

When we had our scouring group I put a scoop in the prestarter in case they nosed into it and a scoop into the pedialyte I put into the milk feeder instead of milk to keep their electrolytes going....

How did you administer the True Glo to the scouring group and how old were they?

HogDoc, is this something that can be put into a ton of feed or do you have to topdress it? It sounds like something I would be interested in if I didn't have to mess with topdressing.

TEE I do have a version that can be added to a ton of feed. As far as the probiotics and prebiotics it is the same as the TrueGlo show pig top dress. The top dress has two things that the premix doesn't. Octacosanol and glucosamine are not in the premix.
It isn't on the website yet but call me 888 603 2459 is the office number and I can get you set up. The only thing is it can't be added to anything you are going to pellet because pelleting kills the bacteria.

mtbkmom it sounds like you are doing the dosing exactly right. That is just the way we do it as well. I just put it right in the trough of the feeder exactly like you described.

The pigs in our trial were about 60 pounds and we challenged them to induce scours. In the trial we hand mixed the feed with TrueGlo and hand mixed feed for one group got antibiotics. I didn't get it edited and published today and I have to run to a meeting now but I'll email you a copy.

Hog Doc, I am looking at using your Tru Glo, and have a few questions regarding using it for my pigs overall gut health on an everyday basis. One, am I reading it right, does it contain both prebiotics and probiotics? Two, does it contain anything for structural integrity, hoof and foot health? and lastly, I like to feed pellets to some of my projects, how will Tru Glo as a granular product feeding it with a pelleted feed? Thanks for your help in advance.

ddwil wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 25, 2019 2:44 pm

Hog Doc, I am looking at using your Tru Glo, and have a few questions regarding using it for my pigs overall gut health on an everyday basis. One, am I reading it right, does it contain both prebiotics and probiotics? Two, does it contain anything for structural integrity, hoof and foot health? and lastly, I like to feed pellets to some of my projects, how will Tru Glo as a granular product feeding it with a pelleted feed? Thanks for your help in advance.

Yes you have read the label correctly there are both probiotics and probiotics in TrueGlo. It does contain both Zn methionine and biotin but works best when combined with our TrueTrac product to support skeletal, joint and hoof health. Since the volume is so low there generally isn't much problem getting pigs to consume it in pelleted diets but we have customers that use a small amount of oil or other liquid so it sticks to the pellets.