The occupation alongside “adjusted” feeds was made clear to me inward recent conversations alongside poultry veterinarian, Dr. Annika McKillop. Tragically, MD McKillop has seen chickens inward several flocks move deathly sick together with decease as a final result of wrong supplement levels added to their diet. If nosotros sympathize why together with psyche the lessons from those cases, nosotros tin give the sack avoid like heartache inward our ain flocks.
My discussions alongside MD Ballam, MD Biggs together with MD McKillop confirmed ii clear points: poultry nutrition is real complicated together with laying hens are extremely sensitive to what they are fed.
Why is a balanced diet of import to hens?
Hens certainly can survive past times eating solely what they scrounge upwards inward a backyard; inward fact, many of our grandparents raised chickens without the cognition from 100 years of poultry nutrition studies. But their chickens weren’t pets; when they became unproductive or sick, the hens were served for dinner. If nosotros wish salubrious pet hens that gain high quality, nutritious eggs together with alive long lives, a correct, balanced diet is imperative.
Most consummate feeds on the marketplace are formulated to furnish the nutrients that hens need- inward the right amounts. When y'all facial expression at a handbag of chicken feed, it may non seem equally good complex, however, equally MD Ballam explained, "Hens require approximately l unlike nutrients daily. Hens utilization nutrients from their feed to maintain their wellness together with gain eggs. Each nutrient plays a sure role, alongside many of the nutrients working together," he said. "Hens are real sensitive to the nutrient balance. The health of the aeroplane tin give the sack oftentimes endure long earlier egg production or egg character is affected. Each of the nutrients inward a consummate feed is chosen together with provided inward specific amounts for its do goodness to the hen."
What tin give the sack hap if nosotros furnish the wrong balance?
If the nutrition residue is off, problems tin give the sack start occurring long earlier they are noticed, according to Dr. McKillop who sees flocks inward their homes equally a practicing poultry veterinarian.
When she arrives, she assesses the living conditions, the demeanour of each bird, together with gathers a flock history from the chicken keeper.
When she arrives, she assesses the living conditions, the demeanour of each bird, together with gathers a flock history from the chicken keeper.
Recently, MD McKillop was called out to encounter a small-scale backyard flock less than 2 years old. Four of the hens had died inward the preceding few days, together with i hen was exhibiting signs of depression, ruffled feathers, loss of appetite, together with bloody diarrhea- all symptoms the deceased birds had shown earlier dying. The sick hen was humanely euthanized together with a necropsy performed on site. The necropsy revealed a discolored intestine that was bloated from gas, filled alongside mucous together with speckled alongside small-scale hemorrhages. No large nematodes were seen. MD McKillop also performed a fecal test, finding that acre at that spot were no parasites or coccidia oocysts, there was an abundant bacterial population of Clostridium perfringens. This is the bacteria that causes gangrene together with necrotic enteritis, (aka: rot gut), a bacterial infection inward chickens. All of her findings were consistent alongside her lastly diagnosis of the deadly necrotic enteritis.
What could conduct hold caused these symptoms?
MD McKillop looked to the flock history she had gathered. This data included the "feed recipe" from the flock-keeper, which she had begun feeding to the hens several days earlier they began dying. Dr. McKillop determined this feed recipe caused the necrotic enteritis together with deaths.
Feed recipe that caused the chickens' deaths:
- 1 l lb. handbag layer feed
- 1 large canister old-fashioned oats
- 2 cups cracked corn
- 4 cups shelled sunflower seeds
- 1 lb of a commercial Omega-3 flaxseed feed supplement
- 1.5 cups brewer's yeast & garlic pulverization
- 1.5 cups probiotic pulverization
- 1.5 cups nutrient flat diatomaceous earth
- 1 loving cup body of body of water kelp
- a handful of mixed, dried herbs
MD McKillop said that the drastic alter inward diet changed the bacterial population inward the intestines, causing the Clostridium bacteria to multiply. While these bacteria are normal inward small-scale numbers inward the intestines, large populations gain harmful toxins that harm the intestine, causing malabsorption, bleeding, together with death.
Photo of abnormal intestine of hen alongside necrotic enteritis shows intestine filled alongside gas.
(portion of lower small-scale intestine, aka: jejunum)
View within intestine of hen alongside necrotic enteritis shows
large amounts of mucous together with numerous hemorrhages
The handling for the surviving flock members was to render to an unaltered, consummate layer feed together with a prescription for Chlortetracycline to fighting the bad bacteria population inward the surviving hens. There were no farther problems inward this flock, but a second, similarly afflicted flock fed the same “recipe” was advised past times MD McKillop to render to their regular feed earlier whatsoever deaths occurred.
How tin give the sack extra nutrients live problematic?
To improve sympathize how altering the nutritional content of layer feed tin give the sack wound chickens, I asked Biggs to facial expression at the diet of these flocks together with explicate the outcome the supplemental ingredients conduct hold on it.
"I would maiden of all off past times maxim that this is a lot of unnecessary operate together with expense. Most companies that are making together with selling consummate laying hen feed already comprise these ingredients inward the right amounts."More importantly, MD Biggs did a calculation of the unneeded supplements together with constitute that they diluted the necessary nutrients dramatically. His calculations showed:
- Overall nutrient dilution past times 17%
- Reduction of unloose energy or calories inward the feed past times 5%
- Reduction of calcium inward the feed past times 15%
"Diluting the nutrients inward the diet tin give the sack live detrimental non solely to egg production, but also aeroplane health," MD Biggs said. "Complete feeds are formulated to furnish the right residue inward each seize alongside teeth of feed. When the residue is off, nosotros tin give the sack maiden of all to encounter problems inward performance."MD Biggs explained that decades of query move into each handbag of feed to ensure the right nutritional balance. For example, Purina Animal Nutrition has conducted thousands of trials on their farm inward Missouri over the past times xc years.
"Nutritionists rely heavily on query to guide us inward maintaining a formula that is consummate together with balanced for the hen," he said. "We know the nutritional content of all the ingredients that nosotros set into a formula, together with nosotros alter the formula equally the nutritional content of the feed ingredients changes."
- "Most diets used to feed poultry are nutritionally “complete” together with commercially mixed, ie, prepared past times feed manufacturing companies, most of which employ trained nutritionists. The formulation together with mixing of poultry feeds requires cognition together with sense inward purchasing ingredients, experimental testing of formulas, laboratory command of constituent quality, together with figurer applications. Improper mixing tin give the sack final result inward vitamin together with mineral deficiencies, lack of protection against disease, or drug toxicity." The Merck Veterinary Manual
- “An excess of some minerals tin give the sack interfere alongside the absorption of other minerals, together with an excess of some vitamins tin give the sack interact detrimentally alongside minerals or tin give the sack themselves live toxic. Instead of making chickens healthier, the unnecessary utilization of packaged vitamin together with mineral supplements tin give the sack conduct hold the reverse of the desired effect.” “Never utilization a supplement, including electrolytes, for to a greater extent than than 10 days (unless advised past times a veterinarian).” Gail Damerow, The Chicken Health Handbook, 2ed
- "You demand a solid cognition of poultry nutrition to residue a ration properly together with avoid nutritional deficiencies. Feeding unconventional feed ingredients does send some conduct a opportunity because unexpected problems may happen, such equally digestive upset, toxicities, or spoilage." Dr. Julie Gauthier, DVM
The take-home message: Adding unnecessary supplements to a character commercial chicken feed tin give the sack endanger the wellness together with lives of backyard chickens. I feed an unaltered consummate layer feed to my flock. When nutritionists conduct hold spent decades selecting the proper nutrients for my chickens, at that spot is no demand for me to gauge which ingredients to include.
Sources & farther reading:
Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, Damerow, Gail
Overview of Necrotic Enteritis inward Poultry, Merck Veterinary Manual, lastly total review/revision Feb 2014 past times Billy M. Hargis, DVM, PhD 
7 Signs of Nutritional Deficiencies inward Chickens together with Turkeys, Nutrient Requirements of Poultry, ninth Revised Edition, 1994
Feeding together with Management Practices inward Poultry, The Merck Veterinary Manual, lastly total review/revision May 2015 past times Bruce Stewart-Brown, DVM, DACPV
Feeding together with Management Practices inward Poultry, The Merck Veterinary Manual, lastly total review/revision May 2015 past times Bruce Stewart-Brown, DVM, DACPV
Avian Digestive System, Dr. Jacquie Jacob, University of Kentucky
To larn to a greater extent than nearly chicken nutrition together with the query behind each handbag of feed, see Purina at this link.
To larn to a greater extent than nearly chicken nutrition together with the query behind each handbag of feed, see Purina at this link.
