Specialty Animal Health Problems & Culbac® Animal Solutions

The beneficial impacts of Culbac animal products are not limited to more well-known or more traditional agriculture animals. From bees to bison to mink and more, our products for animals have been helping farmers and animal raisers optimize the health and return on investment of their animals. All our natural animal products use our proprietary Culbac® Probiotic Plus™Culbac® Probiotic Plus™ is a proprietary beneficial bacterial fermentation product that has undergone a special processing and is enhanced and stabilized to support the growth of good bacteria and minimize pathogens that can negatively impact your soil, plants or animals. Additional vitamins, minerals and amino acids are added to the formulations for extra benefit. bacteria.

The Culbac product line for specialty animals includes:

Healthy Start®

A liquid form of Culbac product. Healthy Start is all-natural, easy to use, and is designed for daily oral administration in animals. Healthy Start is appropriate for newborn, young animals or sick animals. Building digestive efficiency helps young animals grow faster and stronger, supporting them through the weaning process. An optimized digestive system boosts immunity and improves lifelong performance in livestock.

Culbac Dry

A dry form of Culbac on a corn-cob base that can be pelleted, extruded, included in TMR, or top-dressed for daily digestive support.

Rumen-Bac®

A dry form of Culbac on a corn-cob base with an additional vitamin/mineral pack specifically formulated to support the rumen.

Benefits of Culbac products

For many years we have been hearing that bees are in crisis, and that we are losing them at an alarming rate. This is critical because bees are one of great socioeconomic importance as crop pollinators for the success of farming globally. One of the reasons for the loss of so many of these insects is that we have few tools that provide support to the digestive system of bees.

The microbiome within the digestive system of a bee is just as important to its health, strength, immune capacity, and activity levels as it is for any animal. We know that the microbiome of the bee contains Lactobacillus species and other bacterial species that are critical to the health and function of this insect. When this microbiome is disrupted by challenges, whether induced by agrochemical exposures, mite infestations, or other bacterial or fungal diseases like American foulbrood or chalkbrood disease, it is critical to support the digestive tract of the bee along with any other treatments provided.

Scientists have described microbiota dysbiosis (an imbalance in the microbes that support appropriate digestive function) in bees when exposed to some of these health challenges. Brood treatments to disrupt bad bacteria and fungi can be very challenging to the microbial balance within the “good” bacteria required for normal function of the insect. Supporting this “good” microbial balance is key to maintaining a healthy hive with optimal activity and health. Adding a very small amount of a Lactobacillus fermentation product called Healthy Start to the water has been shown in studies to support hive health and improve activity and healthy swarming activity. When treating a hive, maintaining healthy digestive capacity within the insects is key, and Healthy Start is designed to support healthy function of the microbiome.

When queens fail to reproduce, or slow down their production, ensuring their health status can support the health of the hive. Adding Healthy Start to the water source of a hive during queen production and during swarming activities can help support the hive for long-term health and welfare.

Products: Healthy Start

Successful rabbit breeders and producers know that a balanced, nutritious diet and an efficient use of digestible feedstuffs are critical for a high return on investment, particularly when margins may be thin.

Healthy immune function in rabbits is directly correlated to diet. This means that keeping the digestive tract working at optimal capacity is critical for a productive lifecycle. Rabbits are very susceptible to stressors, so transport stress, heat stress, and changes in diet can easily create a difficult situation. Adding a nutritious feed additive, like Culbac Probiotic Plus products, can be an effective support to help the animal retain health and productivity. A healthy diet includes high fiber content, which is difficult to break down in the gut. This is why rabbits and hares produce cecotropes (the softer black poop) that are then eaten for further digestion.

Consuming these cecotropes is very important to the health of the animal, as it allows them to consume additional nutrients that were not available the first time through the digestive tract. This process is called coprophagy. Because of this practice, and due to the fact that rabbits and hares cannot vomit, the efficiency and fluidity of a rabbit’s digestive system is critical. Any event that slows swallowing or digestion can be fatal. Adding an appropriate feed additive can help support the health, digestion, immune protection, and welfare of the animal over the long term.

When breeding rabbits, it is critical to have good nutrient uptake for the best implantation, gestational success, and minimization of stress during kindling. Re-breeding within 24 hours is necessary to maintain the highest reproductive success, as fertilization and implantation efficiency drops significantly after that receptive period. Adding a feed additive like Culbac Probiotic Plus™ products to provide the highest nutritional efficiency at these times will ensure that the doe’s energy and fertility are functioning at their highest capacity.

Products: Healthy Start and Culbac Animal Dry

Farmed mink require a great diversity in the microbiota in their intestinal tract to successfully break down components from the diet for uptake and use in the animal’s system. Due to its short gastrointestinal tract and fast transit times, efficiency and microbial balance are critical to ensure optimal productivity. These animals from the mustelidae family have a gastrointestinal tract that is only about 4 times the length of their body, and transit time through this system is barely 4-5 hours.

Most mink have a resident and stable microbial diversity within their intestinal tract, but one that is so critical to the success of the animal that it must be carefully nurtured. Culbac Probiotic Plus™ products, used in the water or incorporated into pelleted feeds, have been used for many years in farming operations to provide health, sustain intestinal balance, and ensure productivity in these animals.

Products: Healthy Start and Culbac Animal Dry

Culbac products have been used in feeding algae, have been tested in feeding and supporting growth in shrimp, and have shown success in pelleting trials with fish feeds for farming operations. Maintaining immune health in shrimp and fish is key as new challenges arise within farming systems. Optimizing digestive health toward ensuring nutrient uptake for growth, health, and disease-resistance is an important component for any piscicultural pursuit. The ease of incorporating Culbac Probiotic Plus products into algae or feed pellets, or adding to a flow-through water source, makes these products ideal and unique on the fish farm.

Products: Healthy Start and Culbac Animal Dry

Bison are unique members of the Bovidae family and are primarily grazing animals with a powerful ruminant digestive system that allows them to digest the cellulose in their fibrous, plant-based diet. Bison do not store fat in the same way that cattle do, so the meat remains very lean and contains little marbling. Bison meat is high in protein and has a sweet flavor with little gaminess.

Hay supplementation is important, particularly depending on your location and the season of the year. Ensuring adequate feed during a long winter is critical. Additionally, adding a feed supplement to ensure optimized nutrient uptake and to maintain microbial function within the rumen and reticulum as feedstuffs change is of particular importance in Bison.

Additionally, ensuring correct pH buffering and balance within the omasum and abomasum of these ruminant animals will provide health and strength in the face of immune challenges the animal may encounter. This kind of digestive support is available in Culbac Probiotic Plus formulations, and will minimize losses and enhance your return on investment. Culbac products contain stabilized bacteria that support healthy microbial balance in the rumen and reticulum, and the natural acids in the formulation provide the necessary buffering for the omasum and abomasum to provide optimal digestion.

Reproductive challenges in bison can be common if body compositions are compromised. Ensuring the use of all necessary nutritional components and optimizing feed conversion will help maintain the patency of reproductive tissues and ensure that mucoid tissues are ready for fertilization and implantation. Maintaining nutritional balance throughout gestation is critical, and advanced nutritional support at calving and during lactation is important for both cow and calf. Bison milk has a high fat and nutrient content and requires the cow to have adequate nutrition to produce sufficient milk for the calf. Ensuring optimized function of the ruminant digestive tract in the bison will keep the herd producing and healthy for long-term return on investment.

Products: Healthy Start, Culbac Animal Dry, and Rumen-Bac

Water buffalo are ruminants with an extremely high level of microbial activity and function as compared to other ruminant animals.

The balance of rumen and reticular bacteria in water buffalo varies from that of other ruminants even when fed the same diet. Water buffalo have higher levels of cellulytic bacteria in their rumen, lower protozoal presence, higher fungal zoospheres, higher rumen ammonia-nitrogen, and higher ruminal pH. This means that typical feed additives or probiotic formulations that are designed for cows do not generally function as well in water buffalo. However, Culbac Probiotic Plus technology is designed to support the native microflora within the entire ruminant digestive tract without introducing a non-native bacterial load. Additionally, the buffering capacity of the nutritious fermentate included in Culbac products works well in the water buffalo.

Adjustments of bacterial balance within the rumen must be supported with changes in diet, or at times with seasonal variations in feed quality, these are times when adding a Culbac feed additive is critical to support the necessarily changing ruminal environment. The water buffalo’s digestive system is much more adapted to handle a high-fiber diet and efficient breakdown of cellulose. For these reasons, supplementing with a Culbac animal product is an important support for the water buffalo in particular. During gestation and lactation, green fodders are important in the diet of the water buffalo to support intensive milk production with its high fat and nutritional components. Additionally, maintaining high-fiber and nutritional forage in the diet helps to maintain body composition in fattening animals.

Studies with Culbac animal products in water buffalo specifically for milk production have demonstrated intensive milk production with higher components and better milk quality as compared to those animals not fed Culbac supplements. These studies demonstrated superior milk quality and production even in times of high heat and humidity.

Products: Healthy Start, Culbac Animal Dry, and Rumen-Bac

Although there is a great diversity in the physical stature of different cervids, the ruminal compartments and digestive system are similar and digest a diverse high-fiber diet mostly of grass, shrubs, and leaves.

Generally, cervids choose easily digestible forages for consumption. Large amounts of these forages can be stored in the cervid stomachs for later digestion. The bacterial fermentation that takes place within the multiple compartments of the cervid ruminant digestive tract lead to extraction and break-down of proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids which are absorbed in the intestine for use throughout the body. Additionally, particularly during digestion of cellulose, increased levels of high-nitrogen bacteria are formed which are flushed into the intestine and used as a protein source in the tract.

Farmed cervids are often fed diets that vary greatly from the typical forages these animals are normally exposed to, and this can lead to challenges in efficient digestion to support growth and health. Including a supplement like Culbac Probiotic Plus products can assist in more efficient uptake of nutrients from farm-fed diets. Culbac products can be incorporated into pelleted feeds and will assist with transitioning diets in these animals.

Products: Healthy Start, Culbac Animal Dry, and Rumen-Bac

Studies in earthworms with Culbac products have demonstrated higher reproductive efficiencies when Culbac is included in trays with farmed worms. The effect of Culbac Animal Dry was tested on earthworms at several levels, and at all levels of exposure there were more copious eggs produced and improved growth characteristics in worms exposed to the Culbac. The dry Culbac product was crushed to a fine granular powder for delivery to the trays of worms. Healthy Start was tested as an additive in the soil and produced similar results.

The vermicompost produced by earthworms is rich in nutrients and excellent for the soil. Adding the Culbac additives as a supplement to support farmed worms has an additional benefit to the microbial mass in the soil and vermicompost, creating a rich product and maximizing return on investment.

Products: Healthy Start and Culbac Animal Dry