Feeding Garlic Powder at Low Doses Does Not Negatively Affect Feedlot Cattle Health

Author details:

1 Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK; 2 Department of Entomology, Winnipeg, MB; 3 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB; 4 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lacombe, AB; 5 Alberta Agriculture and Forestry Lacombe Research & Development Centre; 6 Lakeland College, Vermilion, AB.

Antimicrobial and insectifugal effects have been reported for dehydrated garlic powder. With limited knowledge on its health impact on beef cattle, this study investigated whether free-choice summer supplementation infused with garlic powder affected cattle blood parameters and long-term stress during the summer. A total of 104 crossbred steers in feedlot setting were randomly assigned to either 0% garlic product (Control), 0.3% garlic-oil-based premix (GOil), 2.5% garlic powder (2.5% GP) or 5% garlic powder (5% GP). Feed and mineral supplements were fed separately in individual GrowSafe bunks to monitor individual mineral consumption. Animal performance measures collected include body weights and gains, individual feed intake, measures of body composition, blood biochemical and hematological parameters. Hair samples were clipped from each steer (3 times) from the rump region to evaluate differences cortisol levels as a measure of long-term stress. Preliminary results showed no difference in final body weight (P=0.19) and dry matter intake (P=0.89). However, compared to the control, all garlic treatments significantly increased daily mineral intake (P=0.003). In addition, GOil had the highest average daily gain (P=0.002) and the highest gain to feed ratio (P=0.01). No significant difference (P>0.05) was observed in most serum biochemical parameters with the exception of 5% GP that had a significantly lower bilirubin (P=0.0001) and albumin (P=0.002) concentration but all biochemical and hematological measurements fell within the normal range for beef cattle. There was no difference (P=0.29) among the groups for cortisol levels. The preliminary results show that low-dose infusion of garlic powder was not associated with any adverse health conditions and may be used to increase mineral consumption in cattle.

Key words: garlic powder, additive, performance, health.

Published in the proceedings of the Animal Nutrition Conference of Canada 2020. For information on the event, past and future editions, check out https://animalnutritionconference.ca/.