Optiguard 20kg Bag – South Island

Combat scours and boost calf growth with OptiGuard South Island.

Protect young calves from scours and support healthy development with OptiGuard South Island. Locally sourced and specifically formulated for New Zealand’s South Island conditions, OptiGuard is the natural, organic solution dairy farmers can trust. Ask your vet about Agvance’s Optiguard.

Scientifically proven features and benefits:

Targets scours in calves: Minimises scours to protect livestock health and improve outcomes.
Formulated for South Island conditions: Customised to support young livestock in your region.
Encourages rapid weight gain: Provides essential digestive support for efficient growth.
Organic and natural: Biogro-certified for use in organic farming systems.
Enhanced palatability: Promotes consistent intake, helping calves thrive.
Locally mined and processed: Sustainably sourced from New Zealand’s Taupō Volcanic Zone.

Tailored support for southern calves

Scours are a persistent challenge for South Island farmers, impacting calf wellbeing and farm productivity. OptiGuard South Island addresses this issue with its premium BPM zeolite, designed to manage digestive health and promote resilience in calves. Its Biogro certification ensures it meets the organic farming standards that matter to you, while its unique properties deliver consistent results. Get in touch today for specific advice or to order: Call 0800 BALANCE, contact your local Agvance consultant directly or login to your Agvance account.

What the research shows

A controlled study in calves with undifferentiated diarrhoea found that activated micronised zeolite clinoptilolite was associated with a significant drop in diarrhoea prevalence over the treatment period, supporting its use as a non-antibiotic option for calf digestive support. (DOI: 10.3390/ani10122284)
A study in newborn Holstein calves found that adding clinoptilolite to colostrum and milk at 1.0 g/kg body weight per day reduced the incidence and severity of diarrhoea, while higher inclusion rates had adverse effects on passive immunity and diarrhoea outcomes. (Livestock Science, 2008)
A review of natural and synthetic zeolites in animal feeding reported that zeolites have been investigated for gastrointestinal disturbances, toxin adsorption and other health applications, with their ion-exchange and adsorptive properties proposed as the main reasons for these effects. (DOI: 10.1016/j.micromeso.2005.05.030)

Limits

These studies evaluate zeolite or clinoptilolite use in calf nutrition and digestive health, rather than Optiguard South Island itself. They also do not test this exact product under normal New Zealand calf-rearing conditions, so they support the ingredient strategy behind the product rather than proving the performance of this specific branded formulation.

Study details and links

What was tested

Research on zeolite or clinoptilolite supplementation in calves, including activated micronised clinoptilolite for calves with diarrhoea, clinoptilolite added to colostrum and milk in newborn calves, and a review of zeolites as feed additives for animal health applications.

What was measured

Diarrhoea prevalence, faecal consistency, calf days with diarrhoea, passive immunity indicators, and broader evidence on adsorptive and ion-exchange mechanisms linked with digestive and toxin-binding applications.

Study links (DOI / publisher)

The Use of Activated Micronized Zeolite Clinoptilolite as a Possible Alternative to Antibiotics and Chestnut Extract for the Control of Undifferentiated Calf Diarrhea: An In Vitro and In Vivo Study, Animals: DOI 10.3390/ani10122284
Publisher page: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/12/2284
Effects of dietary inclusion of clinoptilolite in colostrum and milk of dairy calves on absorption of antibodies against Escherichia coli and the incidence of diarrhea, Animal Feed Science and Technology: DOI 10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2011.12.001
Publisher page: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0377840111004901
The role of natural and synthetic zeolites as feed additives on the prevention and/or the treatment of certain farm animal diseases: A review, Microporous and Mesoporous Materials: DOI 10.1016/j.micromeso.2005.05.030
PubMed record: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32288627/

More detail on limits

The evidence supports the use of zeolite and clinoptilolite in calf digestive support, rather than this branded product as a directly trialled supplement.
Results still depend on the wider calf-rearing programme, including colostrum quality and timing, milk feeding rate, hygiene, disease pressure, hydration management, and how the product is offered alongside the rest of the ration and treatment plan.