What if an egg could provide a targeted tool for supporting gut health in livestock?
In Episode 81 of Ruminate This, Dr. Larry Roth joins Scott Zehr to take a closer look at IgY antibodies, egg-derived proteins that target specific pathogens in the digestive tract.
Larry explains how IgY works, why it remains active in the gut, and how it can work alongside probiotics and other animal health strategies. The conversation covers pathogens such as E. coli, Salmonella, rotavirus, coronavirus, and Cryptosporidium, with a focus on the practical application of IgY in livestock.
Whether you raise calves, manage a dairy, formulate diets, or work with livestock producers, this episode offers a practical look at the science behind IgY and how this targeted approach can fit into a comprehensive gut health program.
Want to learn more? Check out our Guide to Important Scour-Related Pathogens for a closer look at the pathogens that can challenge calves. Then explore the Agrarian Solutions Calf Program for a comprehensive approach to supporting calf health from the start.
🎧 Listen now to set your herd up for lifelong success!
Scott Zehr: All right. Hey, welcome everybody back to another episode of Ruminate This with Agrarian Solutions. I am here once again with Dr. Larry Roth. Larry, you had me all jazzed up after our IgY conversation a couple of weeks ago that I’m coming back to the well, Larry. I told you I love this technology, I think it’s amazing but I have more questions.
Dr. Larry Roth: All right.
Scott Zehr: All right. So we talked about and established what IgY are, how they’re made, and how they can be used. But then when I look across the marketplace and I, as I mentioned last time I’ve never gone into a farm store and seen a bucket of IgY laying there, but there’s so much emphasis on getting a lot of IgG into that calf in the first 12 hours. We agree with that.
Dr. Larry Roth: Yep.
Scott Zehr: That should not change, and we’re not ever gonna recommend changing that. That being said, there are products on the markets- marketplace in the antibody space that use IgG-based antibodies. So you’ve told us what an IgY antibody is and what it can do. Talk to us about the IgG-based antibodies and, where they shine, if you would, and maybe what are some of the drawbacks on how we can feed them.
Dr. Larry Roth: Okay. Great question. What are the benefits to the IgG products? The IgG products really don’t have a lot of advantages over the IgY. The IgG products, to be effective, have to be given the first day of life, due to their susceptibility to break down by the protein-digesting enzymes. So for example, there are some very good, well-recognized products on the market that are totally based on IgG, and if used that first day of life, they work reasonably well.
But the challenge comes in, Scott, that we can provide that initial day one protection, but what happens if the calf gets exposed day 10, day 20, what have you? We cannot come back and use the IgG-only products to complement the antibiotic usage. In our last call, Scott, we talked about how a normal antibiotic treatment program would include, for example, the Convert calf gel with the IgY.
Well we can’t do that with the IgG products. We come back day 10, day 20, day 30, we’ve got protein-digesting enzymes that are going to gobble up the IgG product, and we don’t have that effectiveness.
Scott Zehr: Talk to me about why we’re seeing– And I– Because I think it’s maybe adjacent within this conversation. But talk to me about why we’re seeing some universities talk about feeding colostrum for extended days. So even beyond… And they’re talking about it in terms of improving gut health.
Dr. Larry Roth: You bet.
Scott Zehr: Is there some benefit there beyond the IgG itself? Because as we just talked about, the IgG is susceptible to be broken down by proteins.
Dr. Larry Roth: Absolutely, there are benefits to feeding colostrum or colostrum-type products past day one of life. Colostrum provides so much more than just IgG. Be it from energy standpoint, different growth factors, so many different things that will help the digestive tract to develop that much faster whole body health.
So yeah, there, there’s some merit to longer term colostrum feeding as compared to what we’ve traditionally done. And even from the human standpoint, Scott, that’s one of the fastest growing health food market niches is colostrum. So let’s think about it. A dairy can sell colostrum, right?
Because there’s all kinds of people that want to buy it. We don’t wanna short the calf on the benefits of the IgG that comes from the colostrum, but let’s come with the to igY to complement what colostrum does, to complement the IgG.
So I don’t look at ’em as being either/or. I think they work together. In fact, there’s a very good research study that showed that giving the IgY at the same time as colostrum IgGs actually improves health and performance of the calves. Actually, providing the IgY helps to boost the IgG levels in the blood, which contributes to the passive immunity.
And I reason it this way, Scott, if the IgY can can come into the digestive tract and start to latch on to some of the pathogens and then help escort them on out of the digestive tract, if we’re able to do that, the IgY is going to provide initial protection to the digestive tract so we don’t have to feed antibiotics to take down the beneficial bacterias at the same time we’re trying to reduce the pathogens.
So the IgY is gonna help to reduce the pathogen level, so we have better gut integrity, and the healthy gut is gonna be able to absorb more of the IgG as well as the IgY. So in this neat research study, providing IgY at the same time as IgG actually improved passive immunity or blood IgG levels, and also increased blood IgY.
Scott Zehr: Wow, okay. And then, as we get in, we talked about these animals being so like the, the 7, the 10, the 12-day-old, three weeks old, the, the opportunity to bring in IGY at that, that time for a health event, whether it’s scours or whatever, that’s really where I think the IGY start to separate themselves from just the diversity in how you can use them.
Dr. Larry Roth: So anytime that we give IgY, we’re reducing pathogens. And we can do that at any age of the animal. For example, at Agrarian, we have a product called BioCycle. BioCycle features some chelated trace minerals, our cell wall deficient bacteria technology, as well as the IgY. And we might use that, Scott, with mature cows who have some winter dysentery, or they’re just not doing as well as what they could be.
So let’s bring in some of the IgY and these other ingredients to help clean up the digestive tract. We also have the BioCycle Plus, which is, shall we say, an ultimate product. Has our cell wall deficient bacteria technology to provide the mycotoxin protection, has our other cell wall deficient bacteria technology to help with the immune function and acidifying the digestive tract.
So that, that is a very key part, the IgY in that. And then we also have a microbial gel, which is really designed for incoming feedlot cattle and older animals. So Scott, the IgY gives us so much flexibility over such a range of animal ages.
Scott Zehr: You mentioned the Biofresh Gel and I, I see such a obvious situation there. You take a fresh cow and she just needs a little something, right? This is a very susceptible day in her life this year, and being able to come in with some of these antibodies to just everything she’s exposed to that day in the fresh pen or so on it’s like we dose the calf with Convert and we can dose the, the mama with some, some gel.
Dr. Larry Roth: Let’s think about that newly calved cow. Her immune system is down. She’s susceptible to these pathogens. She’s not eating like she should, so pH comes up in the digestive tract. That favors the pathogens. All of this inflammation that’s going on is taking up the immune system resources.
So what an ideal spot to use the IGY to clean up the digestive tract, keep the bad guys from taking off in number so that the animal can better concentrate its resources on resolving inflammation, repairing the body, rather than having to deal with these pathogens in the digestive tract.
Scott Zehr: Larry I want a story I wanna share with you about using IGY on mature cows. So not to get too funny here, but here’s my phone, and I do have a Bible app on my phone, so if you want me to swear in to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, I will. That being said, I was not working for Agrarian at this time.
This was probably 2016, 2017, somewhere in there. And my dad, who has a dairy farm, we had a cow with E. coli mastitis that just crashed after morning milking. To the point that before I left the barn that day I’m like today’s not sale day. She has to live till tomorrow, and it doesn’t look like she’s gonna be alive tonight. But if I fill her with antibiotics, I can’t sell her anyway. If I do nothing that goes against my moral code. I would hate to euthanize her and not even try.
Dr. Larry Roth: There you go.
Scott Zehr: But, so I said “what can I do? What can I do?” She was running a fever, so this was what I did, Larry. I gave her six aspirin, and I didn’t know how much Convert an adult cow should receive, so I gave her six 60cc doses or six 60cc tubes of Convert.
Dr. Larry Roth: Okay.
Scott Zehr: Okay? That was about 9:00 in the morning. This is hot quarter, E. coli, watery mastitis, diarrhea across the floor. I cleaned up the diarrhea on the floor. I put fresh shavings down before I left. She was not eating when I left. I came back for night milking around 4:00, I got there, and the cow was standing up chewing her cud because she’d eaten all the dry hay I put in front of her. I don’t think it’s coincidence, but what happened inside that cow?
Dr. Larry Roth: with all of the Convert calf gel that you gave, certainly got a lot of the IgY to take out the pathogens, take a load off the immune system, that the immune system could work against other invading agents in the body. You also gave some beneficial bacteria with the calf gel as well to help stabilize that digestive tract pH.
When digestive tract pH gets too high or too low, the animal doesn’t want to eat. So what you were doing was helping to stabilize digestive tract pH, helping to take a load off the immune system to help the cow to feel better. That’s what you did. When we’re sick, we don’t wanna eat, but when we feel good, we wanna get up and eat all that we can.
Scott Zehr: Okay. Now I’ve solved that mystery. I’ve wondered for all these years. And I’m not suggesting that everybody should go out and write down a new mastitis cow protocol. But I- it does show, to me it shows the, the power in these, these kind of technologies that we’re using.
Dr. Larry Roth: Absolutely.
Scott Zehr: And and obviously if all of those IgY would have been turned into nutrition, we probably wouldn’t have seen such a dramatic result there either.
Dr. Larry Roth: Absolutely.
Scott Zehr: So Larry, you started talking to us about BioCycle Plus, the Biofresh Gel products that we carry here at Agrarian that have the IgY antibodies in. We also have some products, and we’ve mentioned Convert a few times. What are the other products that we design more specifically for the younger livestock that we utilize the IgY technology in?
Dr. Larry Roth: The the Convert calf gel to get the calf off to a good start, day one, and then any other time that it’s not eating, any time we’re doing electrolyte or antibiotic therapy. And then the Big Calf powder on a daily basis. To keep supplying the beneficial bacteria and the IgY to build upon the success that we started with the calf gel at birth.
Scott Zehr: I always like to ask this question, Larry. What’s a heifer calf worth today?
Dr. Larry Roth: That is a very interesting question. You have the value of taking that animal to the auction today. But you also have a future value in terms of milk production, future value in terms of her offspring that may be produced to come back into your herd or to sell. So that’s a difficult question to answer.
Scott Zehr: Is she worth investing $20 in for the first eight weeks of her life, 10 weeks of her life?
Dr. Larry Roth: Absolutely. Yep, absolutely.
Scott Zehr: That’s where the Convert Calf program comes in around that $20 mark, give or take a few dollars. Larry, a- an old colleague of mine who’s been a mentor to me, he used to like to say, “I would like to start taking these no-brainer type decisions and turn them back into brainers, because if you stop and think about it, it just makes sense.”
Dr. Larry Roth: There you go.
Scott Zehr: That’s where that 2 to $23, whatever that range is it’s a brainer, Larry. It’s a brainer. It just makes sense.
Dr. Larry Roth: Absolutely.
Scott Zehr: So we started the top of the show talking IgY and IgG, what are the differences, how can each of them be used. I, I just have a, a couple of quick questions for you before I let you go. So, day one, calf is born. Are we gonna give it IgY or IgG?
Dr. Larry Roth: Give it igY, but but we can also give IgG from the colostrum. And remember, colostrum is more than just the IgG, growth factors, all kinds of nutrition. So give both colostrum and the IgY from the Convert Calf Gel.
Scott Zehr: Yep. Larry, this calf is 10 days old, and man, it looks like it’s probably salmonella. Am I gonna give IgY or IgG here?
Dr. Larry Roth: Let’s give you the IgY. If we give IgG, it’s just gonna get broken down by the protein-digesting enzymes, whereas the IgY is gonna be resistant to those protein-digesting enzymes. And therefore, the IgY is gonna be able to go down the digestive tract and take out the different pathogens.
Scott Zehr: Larry, I, I got this group of heifers that are in this one pen. They’re about three, 400 pounds and they’re, they just seem to be lagging. Doesn’t really look like pneumonia. Some of them are loose. IgY or IgG?
Dr. Larry Roth: IgY. Again, don’t get gobbled up by those protein-digesting enzymes. Let’s clean up the track and get rid of some of those pathogens so that the good organisms have more space to live. We can think of it that way.
Scott Zehr: Interesting.
Dr. Larry Roth: Digestive tract health sets the basis for the whole animal.
Scott Zehr: Yes, it does. It all ties together. I’m- I don’t wanna get too on the nose with you, but that cow freshens, she’s in the fresh pen, the baby’s right there. Are we giving them both IgY or are we giving them both IgG?
Dr. Larry Roth: Let’s do the IgY. Again, let’s get the benefits and the antibiotics down the cow’s tract. If we give the IgG, it’s just gonna be broken down by the protein digesting enzymes. But that cow may be going off feed, that lets the pH goes up, and the pathogens like that. So we’re giving the IgY from the microbial bolus or microbial gel, but we’re also bringing in the beneficial bacteria and some antioxidants as well.
Scott Zehr: Larry, the IgY are so versatile when we can feed them to different animals. I think the cliché thing to say is that they’re like the Swiss Army knife in animal health. They can be fed here, they can be fed there, they can be fed everywhere.
But to me I don’t carry a Swiss Army knife on me, but I tell you what, you give me a crescent wrench, I can turn a nut, I can straighten out a cotter pin, and I even have a hammer in my hand. So give me a crescent wrench any day.
Dr. Larry Roth: There you go.
Scott Zehr: ah, yeah. Larry, I, I appreciate you having this, this conversation with me today. And I would just encourage, if you’re, been following us along here on Ruminate This go ahead, take a look at the show notes, get familiar with the IgY technology. Get familiar with the idea of feeding the IgY and probiotics together as we’ve talked about some of the benefits there.
I know I- Larry, I did just bring up the heifer calf thing. But on a cash basis, those black hided calves, hey, we probably ought to be thinking about them. If you gotta let them sit around your farm for two or three days before they can go on a truck, I’d be looking at using some of our IgY technology…
Dr. Larry Roth: Absolutely.
Scott Zehr: to make sure that you can maintain their value. So again, if you have any questions for Larry on, on these topics or us here at Agrarian, [email protected], and check out the resources in our show notes, everything you would need to familiarize yourself with IgY and the Convert products that we carry at Agrarian, as well as the adult animal products that utilize IgY technology. Thanks everybody for listening, and we’ll be talking to you again soon.
Dr. Larry Roth: All right. Thank you, Scott.
