EFFECT OF VIRGINIAMYCIN ON DIGESTIBILITY OF NUTRIENTS, BLOOD AND IMMUNOLOGICAL PARAMETERS, AND QUALITY OF MEAT IN VEAL CALVES

Experiments were carried out in 1992 with ten male calves, 4 weeks old initially, on a milk diet. Five calves received 80 mg/head virginiamy cin (a feed antibiotic) daily for about 14 weeks. Virginiamycin signif icantly (P < 0.05) increased weight gains (122 +/- 2 kg v. 114 +/- 2 k g), digestibility of ash, serum iron and haemoglobin. The feed intake per 1 kg of gain was non-significantly lowered in the virginiamycin gr oup. The phagocytic activity of granulocytes in blood samples of treat ed calves was slightly increased with a concomitant decrease in the co ncentration of immunoglobulins. Meat of virginiamycin-fed calves tende d to be somewhat darker, to contain more K, Na and Fe and to have a hi gher pH 24 h post mortem. There were no major differences in other qua litative characteristics of meat between the groups.