BENEFITS

REDUCES SCOURS

MYCO-TOXIN BINDER
The effectiveness of zeolites as myco-toxin binders is widely recognized throughout the world,
but its use in the United States is not accepted by the USDA.

IMPROVED FEED CONVERSION
 

FLOW AGENT/ANTI CAKING AGENT in feed components

INCREASED PELLET DURABILITY
Allows higher temperatures in pellet mills that increase production and gelatinization that make
more durable pellets.  

REDUCED NECESSITY FOR ANTIBIOTICS
BRZ™ enhances growth without the need for antibiotics.

REDUCES PHOSPHATE POLLUTION AND INCREASES BONE GROWTH
Two factors reduce phosphate pollution. First, increased solubility of phosphates in the hog
allows the reduction of phosphate in the feed rations. This reduces the phosphate in the manure
and the soil that it is applied to. Second, by using BRZ in the feed ration and in the composting
operation, the nitrogen is increased in the compost. An increase in the nitrogen in the “nitrogen
to phosphate” ratio results in the increased plant uptake of phosphate and a reduction of the
phosphate pollution. BRZ helps solubilize phosphate from dicalcium phosphate and other
calcium phosphate sources that enhance bone growth.

INCREASED PRODUCTION
Less ammonia gas in the barn decreases respiratory problems, diarrhea, mortality rate, and
greater food intake result in healthier hogs that gain faster.

INCREASED NITROGEN CONTENT OF MANURE AND COMPOST

BRZ™ increases and fixes the nitrogen in the manure and compost so that it is plant accessible
but not water-soluble. It stops the gassing of the nitrogen as ammonia.

BRZ™ ADDS VALUE TO MANURE AND COMPOST

The introduction of BRZ™ with the manure or compost to the soil has the benefit of increasing
water retention, holding the nitrogen and other nutrients in the growth zone, provides a medium
for the future capture of nitrogen,  increases the ion exchange capacity of the soil, provides
potassium and calcium, and enhances infiltration and aeration of the soil. BRZ™ is a value
added soil amendment that should be advertised.

ODOR CONTROL

Reducing the ammonia gas in the barn and compost areas reduces the odor.

FLY CONTROL

Reduced ammonia gas and increased moisture absorption helps control flies.

INCREASED ANIMAL WELFARE

Greater animal health creates better animal welfare, better meat, greater production, and lesser
usage of antibiotics and medicines that may have lasting adverse effects to the human
population.

GROUNDWATER POLLUTION CONTROL

Fixing the nitrogen and various heavy metals reduces the pollution of the groundwater with
nitrates and nitrites.

Experimental:

Swine. On two farms, the effect of 5% supplementation (85 and 105 days, respectively) of the
Slovakian zeolite (CEC = 0.80-0.85 meq/g, particle size = <0.315 mm) in rations of fattening swine
(supplemented groups = 383 and 494 animals, control groups = 379 and 490 animals, respectively)
was evaluated in relation to weight gain and feed consumption.

Results:

Swine. The supplementation of zeolite resulted in a reduction in the amount of feed consumed per
kilogram of weight gain (Table 1). On the first farm, a reduction of about 10% was recorded.

Grower hogs fed a ration supplement with zeolite and the growth performance was prepared to that of
another group of grower hogs, of identical initial weight, sex and breed, but fed fine sand. The two groups
of hogs were housed in identical rooms, where the room temperature was maintained at the same level.
The experiment demonstrated that zeolite should be supplemented at a rate increasing from 2% for hogs
weighing 20 kg to 5% for hogs weighing over 50 kg. Such levels of supplemental zeolite improved the feed
conversion ratio by 0.33 kg of feed by kg of body weight gain for hogs grown from 20 to 100 kg. This
represents a net profit gain of 4.50$ CDN/hog grown, if the feed and the zeolite cost 250$/ton and 350$/ton,
respectively.

Kondo and Wagai (39) evaluated the use of zeolites in the diets of young and mature Yorkshire pigs in 60-
and 79-day experiments, respectively, and found that the weight gain of animals of both ages receiving diets
containing  5 percent clinoptilolite was from 25 to 29 percent greater than that of animals receiving normal
diets (table 6). Feed supplemented with zeolites gave rise to feed efficiencies about 35 percent greater than
those of normal rations when fed to young pigs, but only about 6 percent greater when given to older animals. In addition, the particle size of the feces of the control group was noticeably coarser than that of the experiment group, suggesting that the digestive process was more thorough when zeolites were added to
the diet. The feces of animals in the control group were also richer in all forms of nitrogen than zeolite-fed
animals, indicating that the zeolites contributed toward a more efficient conversion of feedstuff nitrogen to
animal protein. The digestibility of crude protein and nitrogen-free extracts tended to be improved as zeolite
was substituted for wheat bran in swine diets at levels from 1 to 6 percent over a 12-week period (24,26).
Anai, et al. (5), reported similar results using 5 percent zeolite for 8 pigs over a 12-week period and realized
a 4-percent decrease in the cost of producing body weight. They also noted a decrease in malodor and
moisture content of the excrement, Toxic or other adverse effects were not noted for any of the test animals described. On the contrary, the presence of zeolites in swine rations appears to contribute measurably to
the wellbeing of the animals.

Tests carried out on 4,000 head of swine in Japan showed that the death rate and incidence of disease
among animals fed a diet containing 6 percent clinoptilolite was markedly lower than for control animals
over a 12-month period (83). As shown in table 7, the decrease in the number of cases of gastric ulcers,
pneumonia, heart dilation, and in the overall mortality is remarkable, The savings in medicine alone
amounted to about 75 cents per animal, to say nothing of the increased value of a larger number of healthy
pigs. In one test, the addition of zeolite to the diet of piglets severely afflicted with scours markedly reversed
the progress of this disease within a few days (53). Four underdeveloped Laundry pigs were fed a diet
containing 30 percent zeolite for the first 15 days and 10 percent zeolite for the remaining part of a
month-long experiment. The severity of the disease decreased almost at once, and feces of all pigs were
hard and normal after only 7 days. Although the pigs consumed an average of 1.75 kg of zeolite per head
per day, no ill effects were noted, and once they had recovered from diarrheic ailments, the pigs regained healthy appetites and became vital. A recent Japanese patent disclosure claimed a method of preventing and treating gastric ulcer in swine by the addition of zeolite to their diets (49); supportive data, however, were not reported. Apparently the vitalizing effect of a zeolite diet can be transferred from mother to offspring. Experiments at the Ichikawa Livestock Experiment Station, where 400 g of clinoptilolite was fed each day to pregnant sows and continued through the 35-day weaning period of their offspring, showed substantial increase in the growth rate of the young pigs, As shown in table 8, test animals weighed from 65 to 85 percent more than control-group animals at the end of the weaning period (9). Young pigs whose dams received the zeolite diet also suffered almost no attacks of diarrhea, while those in control groups were severely afflicted with scours, greatly inhibiting their normal growth.

The addition of 5 percent zeolite to the rations of pregnant sows 20 to 90 days after mating gave rise to improved FEVs and increased litter weight at  parturition (46), The earlier the zeolite was added, the greater was the apparent effect. Similar studies were conducted at Oregon State University with young swine using rations containing 5 percent clinoptilolite (16). Although lesser increases in growth rates were found than in the Japanese studies, the incidence of scours was significantly reduced for animals receiving the zeolite diet.Currently, heavy doses of prophylactic antibiotics are used to control such intestinal diseases, which, left unchecked, result in high mortality among young swine after they are weaned. Federal regulations arebecoming increasingly stringent in this area, and if antibiotics are prohibited, other means must be found to control such diseases. Natural zeolites may be the answer. In a preliminary study involving 16 early weaned pigs over a 19-day period, animals on an antibiotic-free diet containing 10 percent clinoptilolite gained about 5 percent more weight per pound of feed than those on a control diet without antibiotics and about 4 percent more than those on an antibiotic-enriched diet (table 9) (70). The small number of pigs used, however, limits the significance of these findings. In another study, a 30 percent improvement in FEVs occurred for 35 young pigs on a molasses-based diet when 7.5 percent clinoptilolite was substituted in the diet during the 35 to 65 kg growth period (table 10) (10). Feces of the zeolite-fed animals were also less liquid than those on a control diet. The addition of zeolites had little effect on the FEVs in the 65 to 100 kg growth range. Heeney (28)
supplemented normal corn-soy rations of 36 pigs with 2,5 and 5 percent clinoptilolite in a 120-day experiment (table 11). He found little overall difference in the FEVs; however, for the first 30 days after weaning, FEVs of 0.455 and 0.424 were obtained for 2.5 and 5.0 percent zeolite, respectively, compared with a value of 0.382 for the control animals, an increase of about 15 percent due to the presence of zeolites in the diet. Little improvement was noted between 30 and 120 days of the treatment.

aKOndo and Wagai (1968) Tests carried out using 5 percent clinoptilolite in rations of experimental groups

bExcluded zeolite

cFeed efficiency value - weight gain/feed intake

‘Eight Yorkshire pigs

eTwenty Yorkshire Pigs

Table 7.—Effect of Zeolite Diets on Health of Swinea

aTest carried out on 4,000 swine at Keai Farm, Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, Japan (Torii, 1974)

Table 8.—Effect of Prenatal Zeolite Diet on Newborn Pigsa

aTest carried out at lchikawa Livestock Experiment station, Japan Four hundred grams of clinoptilolite given to sows n experimental
group per
day and continued to end of weaning period (Buto and Takenashi, 1967)

bweight-gain of experimental animals - weight-gain of control animals x 100.

.

Table 9.—Effect of Zeolite Supplement in the Diets of Early Weaned Pigsa

Basal dietb Zeolite dietc Antibiotic dietd

aPond and Mumpton (1978

b62% ground yellow corn 10% cerelose, 23% soybean meal, 0.5% salt, 0.5% Hopro R vitamin supplement, 1.5% ground limestone,
2.5% dicalcium phosphate

cBasal diet less 10% cerelose plus 10°/0 clinoptilolite, -200 mesh, Castle Creek, Idaho

dBasal diet plus 0.3% Aurofac 10 antibiotic

eExcluding zeolite.

Table 10.—Effect of Zeolite Supplement in Molasses-Based Diets of Young Pigsa