Vitamins for chickens – one of the components of the nutrition of winged. Any poultry should receive them, regardless of age, health status and breeding goals. Much depends on the quality of nutrition: egg production, yolk quality, fertility and, of course, meat quality. Any experienced poultry breeder knows that feeding without vitamins will make poultry breeding unprofitable, so he considers vitamin supplements in his monthly financial costs.
Causes necessary vitamins
On how vitamin-enriched poultry feed depends on many things. The importance of vitamins can only be compared with water and food, without which, as you know, not a single living creature can live. First of all, bird feed should be enriched during the winter months, when birds do not have access to grass.
At least one third of the calendar year of the laying hen feeds exclusively on dry food, this should not be so. Normally, for this period, special fortified supplements and feed are purchased, which will not allow immunity to decline or lose in terms of egg production: the yolk will be small, thin and pale.
As soon as the slightest deviation in the behavior of the grouse has become noticeable, if it has noticeably weakened or lost weight, you need to immediately review its diet: it was likely that a mistake was made when compiling it – there are not enough vitamin supplements in the bird menu. Also, a situation should be alerted when the krika refuses her direct duties: she does not want to hatch eggs or has begun to poorly carry herself. This may also indicate that the chicken’s diet does not have enough vitamins and minerals.
If the owner has taken care in advance that the poultry received all the necessary food components, it will thank with a good offspring, its meat will subsequently be tender , juicy and tasty.
Extra food in winter
Winter is the most difficult period for chickens, because in winter there is the greatest shortage of nutrients. This is also noticeable for the bird owner, since the egg production rate is deteriorating, the general condition of laying hens can be described as lethargic and weak. Based on this, the introduction of vitaminized foods to laying hens is a prerequisite for poultry farming.
The fact is that with poor nutrition, the chicken’s immunity decreases: it can become sick , internal organs – the liver, heart, – weaken and also feathers fall out. In the summer, nutrition occurs according to another scheme: useful substances are extracted from greenery. In winter, the extraction of such food becomes impossible.In addition, you need to prepare in advance for the cold season:
- warm the house ;
- buy food;
- buy specialized vitamins for laying hens in the winter.
The quality of health of the chickens will directly affect how healthy the chickens are, whether they will hurt and die. Judging by the reviews of farmers, with a rationally designed menu, the laying hen brings more eggs in one clutch.
Worms are a source of vitamins
Many poultry farmers claim that ordinary earthworms contain the necessary the amount of vitamins and minerals that poultry needs. In addition, they are a valuable source of protein, which also needs laying hens. This source of vitamins for laying hens will not cost a penny, since absolutely everyone can breed worms, this does not require financial costs or special skills. All you need is:
- high-quality soil;
- sufficient moisture.
If these conditions are met, a constant source vitamins for laying hens in the warm season are guaranteed.
Of course, in the winter you still have to buy ready-made vitamin feeds in specialized veterinary stores.
Nutritional Supplements
Earlier it was said that ordinary earthworms are a significant source of essential nutrients for laying hens, so we must make every effort to ensure that the chicken eats them as can be more. However, worms cannot be dispensed with, because vitamins need to be taken care of all year round, that is, all 12 months, including winter.
How can you help a chicken in winter, how to enrich its diet? In addition to the fact that you can buy ready-made dry fortified feed, you should pay attention to such components:
- sprouted wheat grains;
- live yeast (they are boiled in water or beer, then cool and give it to the bird);
- capsules of fish oil or pure oil;
- dried grass, prepared in advance in the season.
Harvesting vitamins in advance
As for yeast and fish oil, these components are not deficient; they can be bought at any time of the year in a regular store or pharmacy. However, it must be remembered that poultry also needs the remaining components of food: protein and complex carbohydrates.
You can check if the bird receives enough vitamins by the quality of the shell. If it is solid, all is well. In the opposite case, you need to revise the diet: perhaps the bird is not given enough calcium.
Green foods are dried at the end of the summer period.Moreover, all greens, including inflorescences, must be thoroughly dried in the sun and only then ground to the state of bird food, ground flour. Until new greens grow, grass meal will be a complete source of nutrients. In addition, it is worth noting the importance of grinding needles in the diet of hens. It is also dried first and then ground into flour.
Vegetables are also dried in the spring, after which they become an integral part of the diet when ground. Particular attention should be paid to such:
- carrots;
- cabbage leaves;
- beetroot.
Despite the simplicity and accessibility of these components, they are ideal for chicken diets, make up for the deficiency of vitamins and minerals.
Ready-made vitamin complexes
The easiest way to make up lack of trace elements with the help of multivitamins, as their composition is thought out to the smallest detail, satisfying all the nutritional needs of the bird. To date, the market for ready-made vitamin complexes for chickens is widely represented and has more than a dozen brands. However, among this set one can single out several of the most effective and suitable microelements according to the price-quality-content criterion:
- Undevit;
- Trivit;
- Chiktonik.
Taking the above drugs, regardless of name and content, will prevent the development of vitamin deficiency (even in spring), as well as strengthen the immunity of birds, increase resistance to viruses and bacteria. Especially relevant is the consumption of such complexes in the winter, during treatment of the disease and for some time after it, to help the body recover. You cannot decide how many times to give drugs to the bird yourself.
Natural sources of trace elements
It is a misconception that trace elements are found only in purchased vitamins. In fact, they are part of many available and inexpensive foods that can be added to the diet of chickens. Find out what is on this list:
- chalk;
- crushed shell rock;
- limestone;
- breast of wood ash;
- crushed eggshell.
All these ingredients contained in the above products, contribute to better chicken health, and mineralized nutrition also enhances the quality of eggs, including shells. With a sufficient calcium content in food, it will be solid, which will allow the chicken to form normally in the egg (the egg yolk will be large, even 2 yolks in one egg are possible), and will also be a favorable factor for egg production.
In the diet, you can safely add not only the shell of chicken eggs, but also the eggs themselves, protein and yolk.The only exception is raw eggs, they are strictly prohibited for feeding chickens, as they can provoke the development of cannibalism .
Now you know why it is so important to add vitamins for laying hens to their daily food . You are also now informed which foods are a valuable source of fortified nutrients, what should be done to prevent the onset of vitamin deficiency symptoms. If you follow all the recommendations, the poultry will remain healthy, will carry more eggs, and also bring tasty healthy meat.
