While Aureomycin®
(chlortetracycline) is primarily seen as an excellent in-feed antibiotic for bovine respiratory disease, studies show it can also provide an excellent return on investment in terms of improved weight gain and feed efficiency.

For example, in one trial, highly stressed calves fed Aureomycin showed better average daily gain (2.51 vs. 2.30) and feed conversion (12.76 vs. 12.85) than untreated calves.

Bovatec® (lasalocid) also improves weight gain and feed efficiency. 

In 12 studies in cattle on high-fiber diets, cattle treated with Bovatec showed 4.4 percent better average daily gain (2.46 vs. 2.26) and 6.2 percent improved feed efficiency (8.24 vs. 8.78) than cattle fed monensin.

Feed Efficiency

To maximize production and keep meat and dairy prices competitive for consumers, producers routinely seek ways to improve the amount of weight cattle gain produced from each pound of feed.  The faster animals get to market or breeding weight, the lower their cost of production and the lower price consumers pay at the supermarket. 

In a perfect world, meeting this challenge would mean providing optimum nutrition and taking measures to ensure good intestinal health — and those inputs are important. 

But invariably, cattle succumb to respiratory and enteric infections, which can hamper feed intake and greatly reduce weight gain.  Antibiotics are often needed — not only to ensure the good health and welfare of the animal, but also to keep animals growing efficiently.

In-feed antibiotics are particularly helpful  because they can selectively kill the bad bacteria while leaving good bacteria in place.  For example, the anticoccidial Bovatec®(lasalocid) works in the rumen microflora to improve intestinal health and allow animals to utilize the energy of feedstuffs more efficiently.  That in turn produces a healthier animal, one that can respond better to antibiotics such as Aureomycin® (chlortetracycline).  The US Food and Drug Administration recently ruled that that these feed additives could be used together to optimize disease control and feed efficiency/gain.

In a ranch-to-rail study at Texas A&M University , disease also reduced the number of carcasses grading choice by 12 percent and increased the number of standard grading carcasses by 5 percent.

“When death loss, medicine costs, and reduced carcass value were considered, cattle that were identified and treated for sickness returned an average of around $88 less compared to cattle that were never treated for sickness,” investigators reported.

For more information about improving feed efficiency/gain, click on the links below.


Just for
  • Protecting your investment - beef (PDF)
  • Protecting your investment - dairy (PDF)
  • Aureomycin+Bovatec: Formula for success (PDF or HTML)
  • FDA okays Aureomycin-Bovatec for dairy replacement heifers (PDF or HTML)
  • Fact sheet: Bovatec (dairy) (PDF or HTML)
  • Fact sheet: Bovatec (beef) (PDF or HTML)
  • Data sheet: Bovatec 150 (PDF)
  • Data sheet: Bovatec 91 (PDF)
  • Data sheet: Bovatec Liquid 20 (PDF)
  • What are your heifer replacement goals? (PDF or HTML)
  • Safety and toxicity of ionophores (PDF)
  • Caloric equivalency of Bovatec® (PDF or HTML)
  • Bovatec vs. Rumensin on pasture cattle (PDF or HTML)
  • Distinctions between Deccox, Bovatec and Rumensin(PDF or HTML)
  • Bovatec vs. Rumensin in high roughage diets(PDF or HTML)
  • Economic benefits of improving feed efficiency (PDF or HTML)
  • Bovatec for pasture cattle (PDF or HTML)
  • Bovatec for cattle grazing pasture and rangeland (PDF or HTML)
  • Bovatec improves cattle performance regardess of pasture type (PDF or HTML)
  • Pasture medicated feed additive comparison (PDF or HTML)
  • Dairy heifer taste preference - Bovatec vs. Rumensin (PDF or HTML)
  • Effects of prior Bovatec exposure on dairy heifer taste preference (PDF or HTML)
  • Brochure: Aureomycin/Aureo S 700 quality (PDF)
  • Effect of supplemental summer mineral containing Aureomycin for anaplasmosis
    (PDF or HTML)
  • Fact sheet: Aureo S 700 (dairy) (PDF or HTML)
  • Fact sheet: Aureo S 700 (beef) (PDF or HTML)
  • Data sheet: Aureo S 700 (PDF)
  • Preconditioning programs with Aureo S 700 (PDF or HTML)
  • Comparison of Aureo S 700 and Pennfield CTC+SMZ (PDF or HTML)
  • Brochure: The mark of excellence in heifer health (PDF)
  • Brochure: Aureomycin + Bovatec (PDF)
  • Florida's McArthur Farms prefers to be proactive with disease management
    (PDF or HTML)
  • Good coccidiosis contraol starts early, before symptoms show (PDF or HTML)
  • Florida;s Thomas Cattle Buying fine tunes the art of preconditioning
    (PDF or HTML)

Feed efficiency/gain

  • Aureomycin® + Bovatec®

    Now get BRD and coccidiosis protection in the same feed.
    (read more)

  • Aureomycin®

    Time-tested control of BRD and anaplasmosis, plus better feed/gain.
    (read more)

  • Aureo S 700®

    The sensible, broad-spectrum choice for tough enteric and respiratory disease challenges in calves.
    (read more)

  • Bovatec®

    Proven safe, palatable and the only ionophore you can feed starting at birth.
    (read more)

  • Deccox®

    Works directly in the small intestine to stop the top causes of coccidiosis.
    (read more)

  • Natural supplements

    Alphamune® and Beta Mos™ help improve intestinal health so cattle can more easily fight disease. .
    (read more)

  • Teat dips

    Kenostart® and Kenocidin® - two trusted options to protect cows from mastitis.
    (read more)

  • Water solubles

    Fast-acting, water-soluble antibiotics to get a sick animals back on their feet.
    (read more)

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