Just like for us humans, to chickens, vitamins and minerals are very important for health. Lack of of these, known as a deficiency, causes problems, varying from something more minor such as decreased egg production to much more serious conditions, such as anaemia and death.
Chickens need all known vitamins and minerals, with the exception of Vitamin C.
Below is a list of Vitamins and Minerals, and the effects suffered by chickens in case of deficiency.
|
Vitamin/ Mineral |
Vitamin and Mineral Function | Deficiency symptoms |
|---|---|---|
|
Vitamin A (Retinol) |
Good feathering, egg production, reproduction | Weakness, lack of growth, decreased egg production |
| Thiamine (B1) | involved in enzyme systems, | Loss of apetite, Death, chick paralysis |
| Riboflavin (B2) | Essential in many enzyme systems | Poor growth, poor egg production and curly toe |
| Pantothenic Acid | Essential for Growth, hatchability, feathering | Dermatitis and lesions on feet and around beak and eyes |
| Niacin | Fat protein and carbohydrate metabolism | Bowed legs, inflamed mouth cavity |
| Choline | Fat metabolism, | Fatty liver, poor growth |
| Vitamin B12 | Growth, good hatchability | Anaemia, poor growth, embryonic mortality.ss |
| Vitamin D | Bone growth, egg shell production, Calcium and Phosphorus utilization | Rickets |
| Vitamin E | Normal reproduction and fertility. Antioxidant | Enlarged hocks, crazy chick disease |
| Vitamin K | Blood clotting, | haemorrhage |
| Folic Acid | Prevents perosis, good feathering | Anaemia, poor feathering, poor growth, anaemia |
| Biotin | maintains blood glucose levels, involved in carbohydrate conversion | Perosis, poor hatchability |
| Below are some important minerals essential to chickens’ health | ||
| Calcium | Important for healthy bones, and strong eggshells, and hatchability | Soft shelled eggs, poor hatchability and rickets |
| Cobalt | Activates enzymes, synthesises B12, needed for pyrimidine synthesis | Slow growth, mortality, reduced hatchability |
| Copper | Iron metabolism, controls the movement of iron | anaemia |
| Iodine | Thyroxyn synthesis, regulates neuromuscular functions | goitre |
| Iron | Important in haemoglobin formation, Transports oxygen | anaemia |
| Magnesium | energy metabolism, nerve impulse transmission | Sudden death, |
| Manganese | Important in the formation of bone cartilage | Perosis, poor hatchability, bone shortening, bowing bones |
| molybdenum | Synthesis of haemoglobin | Deficiency rare, excess more common, causes reduction in copper availability |
| Phosphorus | Component of bone, helps bone structuring | Poor egg shell quality, rickets, bad hatchability |
| sodium | Acid-base balance, salt balance | dehydration |
| Selenium | Antioxidant, increases vit. E absorbsion, | Poor fertility and hatchability |
| Zinc | Essential for over 2oo enzyme systems | Short bones, poor feathering, poor eggshell formation |