| Diets for gilts and the breeding herd should contain the better quality feed grains, free from spoilage, molds, and mycotoxins. |
| Rarely, some molds produce toxic substances called mycotoxins. |
| However, from the mycological standpoint, antibiotics are considered mycotoxins since they too are generated by mold to ward off microorganisms. |
| More importantly, investigators have found that airborne Stachybotrys spores are highly respirable, and they contain trichothecene mycotoxins. |
| In essence, the multiple mechanisms of potential damage from mycotoxins are not unlike those of many xenobiotics. |
| Infection with mycotoxins is most common on grains damaged by insects, birds, mites, hail, early frost, heat and drought stress, windstorms, and other unfavorable weather. |
