I am not a science guy, so I really can't tell you.  It is not a steroid.  It is not a hormone.  It is an feed additive that enhances lean muscle gain in pigs.  It really works.  It is amazing the almost explosive, freakish effect it has on pig muscle and rate of gain.  These are two areas that are of great financial gain and would interest any livestock producer in order to increase profitablilty.  Here is a link to the Elanco (R) website that talks about Paylean (R) and also has a pdf of the label of the product which will better inform you and I think you would find very interesting.

www.elanco.us/products/paylean.htm

So why don't you feed it?

You are correct, we do not feed Paylean (R)  In fact, we promote that we feed "no Paylean(R)".  The only thing I can say is it is because of what I have seen and experienced.  This is not a 'down with Paylean(R)' campaign by any means.  It is not my mission in life to remove such products from the world.  What is my responsibility is what I feed my pigs, my family and what I feed you.

Our experience with Paylean(R) 

Several years ago, we raised pigs for a company.  We provded the labor and our barn and they provided the feed and the pigs.  It was a good way for us to provide income for our family.  Right or wrong this company used Paylean in their feed the 6 weeks prior to going to market to be butchered.  It just struck me how I never knew when the batch of feed would come that had the Paylean (R) in it, but I could always tell when the pigs started eating it.  The pigs became very aggitated.  They became very irritable and aggressive towards each other, feeders, waterers and even me.  They were very flighty and very stressy.  Mortality increased as did injury.  When we would move pigs or load them for market, we had to be so careful.  Any stress at all and pigs would turn purplish and shake and sometimes you might lose one to a heart attach.  It was very troublesome.

I did not do any study to prove any of this, but to me it came down to a simple question?  Do I want to eat pork fed that?  Do I want my kids to eat pork fed that?  Do I want our customers to eat pork fed that?  I don't care what kind of financial gain there might be by feeding it.  It is not worth it.  I know I can not prove that Paylean (R) or anything else fed to our pigs would pass through to me or my family, but why take the risk when it isn't neccessary.  Plus, just seeing what effect it had on the animals was plenty of reason enough to not feed it for their sake alone.

I know that we are not the most perfect hog farmers in the world, but we try our best to care for God's animals in a loving way.  If you pay attention enough, pigs will definitely tell you (not verbally, come on, I am not that goofy) if they are happy and content or not.  The pigs I saw, didn't like what Paylean (R) did for them and neither did I.

I am sure Paylean (R) is a safe product and has helped many producers.  Elanco (R) has developed many great products that have benefited making healthier and happier hogs, but we just decided Paylean (R) wasn't right for our pigs, for us and for you either.  So, please take comfort and knowing that at least the pork you buy from the Birky's doesn't have in it what this farmer thinks isn't good for the pigs, good for his family and good for yours either.

God Bless

Chris Birky