What causes B vitamin Deficiency?

[The Prancing Raptor]

I am looking for information about B vitamin deficiencies...

I have 1 hen, Matilda, with a B vitamin deficiency.

I thought the hen had broken her toe at Christmas time because it was strangely bent & she was limping. In February she suddenly got a lot worse - she was mobile in the morning but unable to stand or walk in the evening. She had a very swollen hock so I thought the original limping had caused her to hurt her other leg. Then in March, most of her toes were curling under & she could not stand up.

I came to Backyard Chickens & discovered that a "B vitamin deficiency" can cause these issues. I have since been treating her & the others with B vitamins for several weeks now & she has mostly recovered...about 85% better. She now has straight toes, can stand, can walk around but is still uncoordinated. I will continue with the B vitamin supplements even if she is 100% as she obviously needs more than her feed provides. I put the B vitamins in the water so all are getting extra now.

The other hens eat the same food & do not have these issues. All eat the crumbles & all free range during the day. The chickens have access to this feed all day as well as oyster shell & water. The chicken crumbles are from the local MFA store. All hens are about 8 months old & are laying about every other day.

Can anyone help me with the following questions please?

1) What is the cause of the B vitamin deficiency in a chicken?
2) Why has only one chicken been effected but not the others?
3) Do B Vitamins quickly degrade in chicken feed?
4) Does fermenting the chicken crumbles increase the B vitamins enough to avoid this issue?

Matilda the chicken & I say thank you for your help!

 

[coach723]

There are lots of reasons they can be deficient, could be the feed, could be that individual bird has trouble with absorption which could be genetic or hatch/development related, or even disease related. That bird may be getting less access to feeders and not taking in enough, so adding more feeders can help with that, so the higher ranking birds can't guard them all. Some birds during molt don't eat well, and they can get deficient then. The vitamins in feed do degrade with age, so checking mill dates on bags is important, get the freshest mill date possible. You might consider getting a fecal test done on that bird to rule out internal parasites, which can mess up their guts and digestion and absorption. I don't ferment feed but most articles say that it does improve the vitamin content, preserves and even increases the B's.
https://www.gardenbetty.com/why-and-how-to-ferment-your-chicken-feed/