Thrive-Tan
Scours, Gut Issues, and the Natural Solution More Producers Are Turning To
If you've ever dealt with scours in a calf or lamb, you know the feeling. You're out before sunrise, the weather isn't cooperating, and one of your animals is off. It's stressful, it's time-consuming, and it can hit your bottom line hard — fast.
At 56 North Ranch Supply, we're always on the lookout for products that actually work for northern Alberta producers. That's why we're excited to be western Canada's Thrive-Tan representative — an organic chestnut tannin supplement that supports gut health, helps prevent scours, and gives your cattle, dairy cows, pigs, sheep, and goats a natural leg up going into calving and lambing season.
What Is Thrive-Tan, and Where Does It Come From?
Here's something worth knowing: Thrive-Tan isn't a new product. It's the Canadian-registered version of Farmatan, a chestnut tannin supplement that has been produced by Tanin Sevnica in Slovenia since 1923 and is sold in markets around the world. The formulation is identical — same product, same research behind it. Farmatan is the name you'll see in American livestock circles and in the published research; Thrive-Tan is simply how it comes to Canadian producers, registered to meet Canadian regulatory requirements.
That matters because when you buy Thrive-Tan, you're not buying something unproven. You're buying a product with over a century of development behind it and a growing body of independent research documenting what it actually does in real herds and flocks.
What Are Tannins, and Why Do They Matter?
Tannins are naturally occurring plant compounds — polyphenols — found in chestnuts, oak bark, tea, and grapes. Animals in the wild instinctively seek them out by browsing leaves, twigs, and berries. They've been part of healthy animal diets for a very long time.
In a livestock setting, chestnut tannins work through several mechanisms. They bind to proteins in the digestive tract, protecting them from breaking down too quickly in the rumen. They support gut wall integrity by strengthening the tight junctions between intestinal cells — reducing what's sometimes called "leaky gut" — which limits how much toxin from harmful pathogens can be absorbed (Tanin Sevnica, Farmatan Product Data). They also act as a natural antimicrobial, with the gallic and ellagic acid in the tannins actively reducing the growth of harmful bacteria including E. coli, Clostridia, Cryptosporidium, and the coccidia species that cause coccidiosis (Buzzini et al., 2008; Girard et al., 2018).
The result is a better gut environment, a more balanced microbiome, and an animal that's better equipped to handle the stress of calving, lambing, weaning, and the demands of a northern Alberta winter.
What the Research Actually Shows
This is where Thrive-Tan separates itself from a lot of products on the market. The research behind it is independent, peer-reviewed, and compelling.
On neonatal calf scours, a clinical trial published in BMC Veterinary Research followed 24 dairy calves affected by neonatal diarrhea. Calves receiving chestnut tannins alongside standard electrolyte therapy experienced scours episodes that lasted an average of 6.4 days, compared to 10.3 days in the control group — nearly four days shorter (Bonelli et al., 2018). That's fewer sick days, less labour, and less stress on the animal during the most vulnerable window of its life.
On parasite load in lambs, a University of Belgrade parasitology trial found that Farmatan-supplemented lambs shed significantly fewer coccidia oocysts — averaging 7,851 oocysts per gram of feces compared to 13,465 in unsupplemented control animals (Gajić, 2017). For sheep and goat producers who deal with coccidiosis pressure every spring, that's a meaningful reduction in pathogen load without reaching for a drug.
On dairy cow health and colostrum quality, a study on prepartum chestnut tannin supplementation found that cows receiving 20g per day in the final 25 days before calving had measurably better colostrum — higher IgG concentrations and improved lactose percentage (Simeunovic et al., unpublished). A separate field study found a 12–15% improvement in colostrum IgG levels in tannin-supplemented cows (Tanin Sevnica, R31). Better colostrum means better passive immunity transfer to the calf, which is one of the most important factors in whether a newborn thrives or struggles.
On gut protection against E. coli, a peer-reviewed study published in PLOS ONE found that piglets fed a diet supplemented with 1% chestnut tannin extract had roughly half the rate of diarrhea compared to unsupplemented animals when challenged with enterotoxigenic E. coli — 26% versus 43% (Girard et al., 2018). While this research was conducted in piglets, the underlying mechanism — tannins inhibiting pathogen adhesion to the gut wall — is consistent with what has been observed across multiple species.
What Producers Are Seeing in the Field
The research is one thing. The field results are another — and they're the ones that tend to get people's attention (Tanin Sevnica, Farmatan Product Data).
A group of six ranchers in South Dakota running 1,676 head had been dealing with consistent 10% death loss from scours. In 2019, they treated more than half their calves and still lost 175 animals. In 2020, they started feeding Farmatan at 15g per day through their calving program. They lost 2 calves total, and treatments dropped to under 5%.
A 225-cow operation in South Dakota went from 110 scours cases and 25 deaths in 2017 to 6 scours and zero deaths in 2018 — and held those numbers through 2019 and 2020.
A 320-cow Kansas producer dealing with coccidiosis-driven scours went from 125 cases and 30 deaths in 2018 to 1 case and zero deaths in 2019.
These aren't controlled trials — they're real operations, real numbers, and real producers who kept feeding Farmatan year after year because it worked.
Scours: The Problem That Costs More Than You Think
Scours is one of the leading causes of death in newborn calves and lambs. Even when animals survive, the setback in growth and the cost of treatment adds up quickly. Prevention is always less expensive than treatment, and the window that matters most — those first days of life — goes fast.
Thrive-Tan can be used as part of a Clean Cow/Clean Calf program, starting with the cow before she calves and continuing through the high-risk period for the calf. Recommended feeding rates are:
- New calves: 8cc Thrive-Tan gel within 24 hours of birth
- Milk replacer or pellet: 5g per head per day
- Clean Cow/Clean Calf Program: 15g per cow per day (90 days pre-calving, 60 days post-calving)
- Feedlot: 10g per head per day
Always confirm feeding rates with your supplier or veterinarian for your specific operation.
A Natural Tool in a World Moving Away from Antibiotics
Canadian producers are under increasing pressure — and increasing scrutiny — when it comes to antibiotic use in livestock. Regulations have tightened, and consumers are paying attention. Tannins offer a research-backed, natural option that supports animal health without contributing to antibiotic resistance concerns (Girard et al., 2018; Hooge et al., 2012).
That's not a small thing. It's the direction livestock production is heading, and products like Thrive-Tan help producers get there without sacrificing animal welfare or herd performance.
Available Now at 56 North Ranch Supply
Thrive-Tan is on our shelves now. Come in and talk to us — we're happy to walk through how it might fit your operation and what other producers are saying about it.
We're located in Peace River, Alberta, and we're here because we believe in the people raising food in this region. If a product can help you spend less time fighting problems and more time doing what you do best, that's a product worth carrying.
Stop in and see us — we'd love to talk livestock with you.
Bonelli, F., Turini, L., Sarri, G., Serra, A., Buccioni, A., & Mele, M. (2018). Oral administration of chestnut tannins to reduce the duration of neonatal calf diarrhea. BMC Veterinary Research, 14, 227. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-018-1549-2
Girard, M., Thanner, S., Pradervand, N., Hu, D., Ollagnier, C., & Bee, G. (2018). Hydrolysable chestnut tannins for reduction of postweaning diarrhea: Efficacy on an experimental ETEC F4 model. PLOS ONE, 13(5), e0197878. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0197878
Voljč, M., Levart, A., Žgur, S., & Salobir, J. (2013). The effect of α-tocopherol, sweet chestnut wood extract and their combination on oxidative stress in vivo and the oxidative stability of meat in broilers. British Poultry Science, 54(1), 144–156. https://doi.org/10.1080/00071668.2012.760190