Antibiotics have been used in animal feed for about 50 years eve

Benefits of Antibiotic use in Animal Feed

The benefits of antibiotics in animal feed include increasing efficiency and growth rate, treating clinically sick animals and preventing or reducing the incidence of infectious disease. By far the major use of antibiotics among these, however, is increased efficiency, i.e. a more efficient conversion of feed to animal products, and an improved growth rate. In chicken feed, for example, tetracycline and penicillin show substantial improvement in egg production, feed efficiency and hatchability, but no significant effect on mortality. Chlorotetracycline, oxytetracyclin and penicillin also show an improved growth rate, but little effect on mortality. Antibiotics in animal feed, in general, are used regularly for increased efficiency and growth rate than to combat specific diseases.