Vitamins & Minerals for Poultry.

Vitamins & Minerals for Poultry

Vitamins and minerals for poultry play a very important role in a healthy and profitable poultry business. One common issue relates to poor or inadequate feeding programmes. These programmes can lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies in poultry. Adequate vitamins and minerals for poultry are vital. A lack of them produces numerous health problems for birds, including death in some cases. Therefore, to prevent these deficiencies—or when you notice deficiency symptoms—you should practise feeding a balanced poultry diet with the required vitamins and minerals.

Even in this day of popular commercial feeds, there is still that one bird or small flock that needs extra help. This article will help you find the right vitamins and minerals for poultry to correct any problems that occur.

We have written this article to help our poultry farmers understand the importance of vitamins and minerals for poultry. Today, expectant mothers take vitamin and mineral supplements. We give our children vitamin supplements. As we get older, doctors recommend vitamins to sustain our health and stamina. In the same way, poultry require vitamins and minerals.

The following narrative shows the effects of deficiencies of the most important vitamins and minerals for poultry.

Vitamins For Poultry

Poultry Vitamin A

Chicks need Vitamin A for growth. Adult birds need it to maintain good health, egg production, and hatchability. A severe vitamin A deficiency gives birds the appearance of having a chronic respiratory disease, a cold, or another such diagnosis. You will see a discharge from one or both nostrils. You will also see swelling of the face around the eyes. The eyelids may become glued together by a discharge. You may also see yellowish-white, round, cheesy patches about the size of a pinhead in the mouth and throat. However, these same symptoms can also be caused by some common poultry viruses or diseases. If you raise turkeys, note that they require twice as much vitamin A as chickens.

Poultry Vitamin B

Researchers have split Vitamin B into several different groups. The one that interests us is vitamin B-1, also known as thiamin. A Vitamin B deficiency involves the nervous system. Young birds are most likely to be affected. Affected birds show weakness, particularly of the legs. They also show loss of weight, incoordination, and jerky movements of the neck and legs.

Poultry Vitamin D

A Vitamin D deficiency causes weak legs, ruffled feathers, and a general unthrifty condition. In this particular individual, even the beak is soft and out of shape. However, this symptom does not always accompany leg weakness. These symptoms normally show up between the 4th and 11th weeks of brooding. People sometimes call vitamin D the “sunshine vitamin.” This vitamin prevents rickets in growing chicks. It also prevents a condition often known as egg paralysis, which accompanies the production of soft-shelled eggs in laying birds. When you consider supplementing vitamin D, you must also consider the calcium and mineral content of the ration. A consultation with your vet would be very appropriate in this instance.

Poultry Vitamin E

Vitamin E seems essential for normal reproduction in hatching. Young chicks that grow on a vitamin E deficient diet from the time of hatching develop a condition of imbalance and loss of muscular control about the third week. These chicks stagger around the pen or lie on their sides. The most concentrated source of Vitamin E is Grow E-Sel, which will undoubtedly prove beneficial in increasing hatchability.

Poultry Vitamin K

Vitamin K is not visible to the naked eye. The picture shows us the research that found the cause of death. Today, this is extremely rare. Vitamin K preserves the clotting power of blood. In the absence of this vitamin, chicks bleed to death from any injury that causes a rupture of the blood vessel walls.

Poultry Vitamin B-5 (Pantothenic Acid / Chick Dermatitis)

A chick affected with this vitamin deficiency shows scabby lesions on the margin of the eyelids, at the corners of the mandibles of the beak, and on the feet. These lesions sometimes also appear around the vent. The first symptom is the chick sitting back on its hocks. It is not willing to move around due to discomfort and weakness.

Minerals For Poultry

Manganese for Poultry

A deficiency of manganese in the diet of immature chickens and turkeys causes several problems. These include perosis, thin-shelled eggs, and poor hatchability in mature birds. It can also cause chondrodystrophy.

Perosis (Slipped Tendon)

The most dramatic effect of manganese deficiency syndrome is perosis. This condition shows several signs:

• Enlargement and malformation of the tibiometatarsal joint
• Twisting and bending of the distal end of the tibia and the proximal end of the tarsometatarsus
• Thickening and shortening of the leg bones
• Slippage of the gastrocnemius tendon from its condyles

High intakes of calcium and/or phosphorus will worsen the condition. This happens because precipitated calcium phosphate in the intestinal tract reduces magnesium absorption. In laying hens, you will often note reduced egg production, markedly reduced hatchability, and eggshell thinning.

Effects on Embryos and Chicks

A manganese-deficient breeder diet can result in chondrodystrophy in chick embryos. This condition shows:

• Shortened, thickened legs and shortened wings
• A “parrot beak” (disproportionate shortening of the lower mandible)
• A globular contour of the head (anterior bulging of the skull)
• Edema (swelling) usually occurring just above the atlas joint of the neck and extending posteriorly
• Protrusion of the abdomen due to unassimilated yolk

Star-Gazing Posture

Growth is also reduced. The development of down and feathers is stunted. A manganese-deficient chick has a characteristic “star-gazing” posture. This occurs because the otoliths of the inner ear are defective or absent. You cannot correct these deformities by feeding more manganese. A diet containing 30–40 mg of Mn/kg fully corrects the effects of manganese deficiency on egg production, provided the diet does not contain excess calcium and/or phosphorus.

Iron & Copper for Poultry

Deficiencies of both iron and copper can lead to anemia. Young chicks become unable to walk properly in 2–4 weeks when fed a copper-deficient diet. Their bones become fragile and easily broken. Epiphyseal cartilage becomes thickened. Vascular penetration of the thickened cartilage is markedly reduced.

Copper-deficient chickens may also display ataxia and spastic paralysis. In birds (especially turkeys), copper deficiency can lead to rupture of the aorta. The biochemical lesion in the copper-deficient aorta likely relates to a failure to synthesize desmosine, the cross-link precursor of elastin. The lysine content of copper-deficient elastin is 3 times that seen in control birds. This suggests a failure to incorporate lysine into the desmosine molecule.

Iodine for Poultry

Iodine deficiency results in a decreased output of thyroxine from the thyroid gland. This, in turn, stimulates the anterior pituitary to produce and release increased amounts of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). This increased production of TSH results in subsequent enlargement of the thyroid gland. We usually term this condition “goiter.” The enlarged gland results from hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the thyroid follicles, which increases the secretory surface of the follicles.

A lack of thyroid activity—or inhibition of the thyroid by administration of thiouracil or thiourea—causes hens to cease laying and gain excessive weight. It also results in the growth of abnormally long, lacy feathers. Administration of thyroxine or iodinated casein reverses the effects on egg production, and eggshell quality returns to normal. The iodine content of an egg is markedly influenced by the hen’s intake of iodine. Eggs from a breeder fed an iodine-deficient diet will exhibit reduced hatchability and delayed yolk sac absorption. Rapeseed meal and, to a lesser extent, canola meal contain goitrogens that cause thyroid enlargement in young birds. You can avoid iodine deficiency in poultry by supplementing the feed with as little as 0.5 mg of iodine/kg.

Magnesium for Poultry

Natural feed ingredients are rich in magnesium. Therefore, deficiency is rare, and manufacturers rarely add magnesium to diets. Newly hatched chicks fed a diet devoid of magnesium live only a few days. They grow slowly. They become lethargic and often pant and gasp. When disturbed, they exhibit brief convulsions and become comatose. This condition is sometimes temporary but often fatal. Mortality is quite high on diets only marginally deficient in magnesium, even though the growth of survivors may approach that of control birds.

A magnesium deficiency in the diet of laying hens results in a rapid decline in egg production, blood hypomagnesemia, and a marked withdrawal of magnesium from bones. Egg size, shell weight, and the magnesium content of yolk and shell all decrease. Increasing the dietary calcium of laying hens accentuates these effects. Magnesium seems to play a central role in eggshell formation. However, it is not clear whether there is a structural need or whether magnesium simply gets deposited as a cofactor along with calcium. Requirements for most classes of chicken seem to be ~500–600 ppm Mg. Natural feed ingredients usually achieve this level.

Potassium, Sodium & Chloride for Poultry

Researchers have clearly defined requirements for potassium, sodium, and chloride. However, it is also important to maintain a balance of electrolytes in the body. Experts often term this “electrolyte balance” or “acid-base balance.” The effects of a deficiency of any one element are often a consequence of an alteration to this important balance, as it affects osmoregulation.

A deficiency of chloride causes ataxia with classic signs of nervousness. Sudden noise or fright often induces these signs. The main sign of hypokalemia is overall muscle weakness. Characteristics include weak extremities, poor intestinal tone with intestinal distention, cardiac weakness, and weakness of the respiratory muscles (ultimately causing their failure).

Birds that eat a diet low in protein and potassium—or that are starving—grow slowly but do not show a potassium deficiency. Potassium derived from metabolized tissue protein replaces that lost in the urine. The ratio of potassium to nitrogen in urine is relatively constant and is the same as that found in muscle. Thus, tissue nitrogen and potassium are released together from catabolized tissue.

A deficiency of sodium leads to a lowering of osmotic pressure and a change in acid-base balance in the body. Cardiac output and blood pressure decrease. Hematocrit increases. The elasticity of subcutaneous tissues decreases. Adrenal function becomes impaired. This leads to an increase in blood uric acid levels, which can result in shock and death. A less severe sodium deficiency in chicks can result in stunted growth, soft bones, corneal keratinization, impaired food utilization, and a decrease in plasma volume. In layers, you may note reduced egg production, poor growth, and cannibalism. Several diseases can result in sodium depletion from the body (e.g., GI losses from diarrhea or urinary losses from renal or adrenal damage).

Electrolyte for Poultry

The primary role of electrolytes in poultry is to maintain body water and ionic balance. Therefore, you cannot consider requirements for elements such as sodium, potassium, and chlorine individually. The overall balance is what matters. Overall electrolyte balance is always important. However, it becomes most critical when chloride or sulfur levels are high. When dietary chloride levels are low, there is often little response to the manipulation of electrolyte balance. But when dietary chloride levels are high, it is critical to adjust the dietary cations to maintain overall balance.

Selenium for Poultry

A deficiency of selenium in growing chickens causes exudative diathesis. Early signs (unthriftiness, ruffled feathers) usually occur at 5–11 weeks of age. The edema results in weeping of the skin, which you often see on the inner surface of the thighs and wings. The birds bruise easily, and large scabs often form on old bruises. In laying hens, such tissue damage is unusual. However, egg production, hatchability, and feed conversion are adversely affected.

The metabolism of selenium is closely linked to that of vitamin E. Therefore, you can sometimes treat signs of deficiency with either the mineral or the vitamin. Vitamin E can spare selenium in its role as an antioxidant. Thus, you can also treat some selenium-responsive conditions with supplemental vitamin E.

Zinc for Poultry

Dietary ingredients influence zinc requirements and signs of deficiency. In young chicks, signs of zinc deficiency include:

• Stunted growth
• Shortening and thickening of leg bones and enlargement of the hock joint
• Scaling of the skin (especially on the feet)
• Very poor feathering
• Loss of appetite
• In severe cases, mortality

While zinc deficiency can reduce egg production in aging hens, the most striking effects appear in developing embryos. Chicks hatched from zinc-deficient hens are weak. They cannot stand, eat, or drink. They have accelerated respiratory rates and labored breathing. If you disturb the chicks, the signs worsen, and the chicks often die. Stunted feathering and frizzled feathers are also found. However, the major defect is grossly impaired skeletal development.

Zinc-deficient embryos show micromyelia, curvature of the spine, and shortened, fused thoracic and lumbar vertebrae. Toes are often missing. In extreme cases, the embryos have no lower skeleton or limbs. Some embryos are rumpless. Occasionally, the eyes are absent or not developed.

You should also read Vitamins and Minerals for Layer Poultry