Best Vitamins For Chickens

SQUAB

There was a great need to update the
previous post on chicken vitamins because most readers on the social platform
want to know how to source these vitamins through the natural form possible.
This brings about this update.

Derived from plant or animal sources,
vitamins are needed in small quantities for normal growth and activity. Chickens
need every known vitamin in some amount, and unlike their needs for energy and
protein, their vitamin requirements remain fairly steady year-round.

Best Vitamins For Chickens

However, a flock’s vitamin requirement
are interrelated with the must be balanced against other nutritional components
such as protein, minerals, and energy whose sources also contain vitamins.

The table below has stated in a concise
terms the list of the best vitamins for chicken, their roles, deficiency and
possible source.

You can have the table handy while
diagnosing your birds matching it with health issue signal and the possible
steps to take so as to prevent damage or death.

FAT SOLUBLE VITAMINS

VITAMINS

ROLE

DEFICIENCY SIGN

SOURCE

A

Vision, growth, strong bones,
immunity, antioxidant

Weakness, slow growth or emaciation,
poor vision, reduce laying, low hatchability, blood spots in eggs,
respiratory distress

Green Forage

D

Enable calcium absorption

Rickets, thin and soft shell eggs with
low hatchability, leg weakness

Sunshine, cod liver oil

E

Antioxidant, immunity, reproduction

Encephalomalacia, Reduced fertility in
cock, low hatchability of eggs

Cod liver oil, corn oil, soybean oil,
wheat germ

K

Blood Clotting

Easy bruising and bleeding

Alfalfa, leafy dark greens

Vitamin C helps prevent disease both
as an antioxidant and by reducing the harmful effect of stress. Chicken make
their own vitamin C and do not need a supplement, except when the absorption
of vitamin C and other nutrients is inhibited by stress, such as might occur
because of hot weather, overcrowding or the presence of a disease.
Supplementing your flock’s diet with a source of vitamin C can help them
overcome heat stress, but be careful with vitamin C supplement (ascorbic acid)
as too much can upset digestion and cause diarrhea. A better option is
treating your chickens to some fresh produce. Among the best sources of
vitamin C are uncooked pumpkin and other squash, sweet potatoes, and leafy
dark greens.

 

Vitamin B complex

 

Vitamin

Role

Deficiency

Source

B1 Thiamin

Healthy nerve cells

Failure to eat, Inflamed nerves, death

Legumes, sesame seeds, sunflower
seeds, wheat brain

B2 Riboflavin

Antioxidant; growth; red blood cell
production, metabolize vitamin B6

Emaciation while eating well,
diarrhea, leg paralysis curled toe paralysis death

Soybeans, sesame seeds, wheat germs,
whole grains,  dry milk products

B3Niacin

Metabolize carbohydrates, fats and
protein, hormone production, blood circulation

Swollen hocks bowed legs

Fish meal, sunflower seeds

B5 Pantothenic acid

Red blood cell production, healthy
digestive tract, body fat

Sores on feet and face, rough broken
feathers, death

Corn, legumes, sunflower seed, sweet
potatoes, wheat bran, whey

B6 Pyridoxine

Healthy nerve cell, brain function,
hormone production, red blood cell production

Muscle weakness, death

Legumes, milk, sunflower seed, wheat
germ

B7 Biotin Vitamin H

Metabolize carbohydrates, fats, amino
acids, strengthen feathers, beaks, and claws

Sores on feet and face, clipped tendon

Brewer’s yeast, legume, oats, wheat
germ, manufactured in the intestine

B9 Folic Acid

Brain function; DNA and RNA
production; red blood cell production, growth

Slow growth, poor feathering, anemia

Leafy dark greens, legumes, milk, root
vegetables, wheat germ, whole grains

B12 Cobalamin

Healthy nerve cells; DNS=A and RNA production,
red blood cell production, metabolize carbohydrates and fats

Slow growth, small eggs with low
hatchability; death

Milk, fish meal, livestock manure


Vitamin
Supplements

Trying to furnish your chickens each of
the vitamins individually are impractical and so is attempting to identify signs
of a deficiency in any specific vitamin. If you suspect your chickens are
suffering from a vitamin deficiency, the best approach is to provide a complete
supplement, of which many different brands are available specifically designed
for poultry.

Giving your chickens a vitamin supplement
will boost their immunity during times of stress, such as when their bodies are
battling a disease, when the weather is unpleasant, during a move, before and
after a poultry show, and during the breeding season.

To counteract any potential deficiencies
in the breeder flock diet, chicks get off to a better start when given a
supplement during their first 3 weeks of life. Keep in mind, though, that some
vitamins interact synergistically with each other. And an excess of some
vitamins can interact detrimentally with themselves be toxic. 

Instead of making chickens healthier,
the unnecessary use of packaged vitamin supplements can have the opposite of
the desired effect. Never use a supplement, including electrolytes, for more
than 10 days. If you are formulating your own rations, the best way to guard
against vitamin deficiencies is to include a premix (for example, Fertrell
Nutri-Balancer).


Premixes are available in both standard
and organic formulations. Since too much can be as detrimental as too little,
carefully follow the directions on the label to avoid overdosing on your chickens.

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