can you overdose you chickens with vitamin E?

[targaryen9]

I am wondering if too much vitamin E can actually harm your chickens. I started giving vitiamin E+selenium supplement in their water and 2 of my chickens began having leg problems. (one of their legs would turn a little bit inwards causing them to limp.). I've had marek's before but none of my deceased chickens(due to Mareks) had this symptom.

 

[tjo804]

I am not sure
How much and how often are you giving them supplements?
What type of feed are you using regularly?

 

[Percheron chick]

I would never give Se. Commercial feed mixes will have adequate levels. If you mix your own feed and the grain is grown in a deficient area than you do need some but very hard to get the level right.

 

[Eggcessive]

Why were you giving the vitamin E and selenium--did they have symptoms of wry neck? What dosage were you giving? It's best to give things like selenium as an oral dose to each chicken. As said previously, they don't need much, around 25 micrograms of slelenium daily perhaps. Most feeds are sufficient in vitamins and mineral if you are using fresh, name brand foods, but the longer they are on the shelf or open, they can loose nutrients.

 

[LeeMcQuay]

This post is an older post, but I have the same question. I didn't see a true answer though.

I have a chick that has wry neck. I have been giving it the selenium vitamin e ( goat gel) for 2 months now. It has improved but still has symptoms. I give it a pea size drop 2 times a day.

It seems like a long time to have a chick on the vitamin. Can the vitamin do more harm than good if a chick is on it for a long period? I have tried to Google it and didn't find an answer.

Your help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Eggcessive]

LeeMcQuay, Vitamin E is a fat soluble vitamin usually, so it is not good to give more than a recommended daily dose. But if you can get a water soluble E, then it would not be dangerous to keep giving it at a higher dose. The goat gel only has 100 IU of E per 1 ml. If you were giving only a little, it may not have been enough. The problem with chickens though, is that who knows what the daily recommended dose is for any vitamin or mineral? We usually recommend giving a 400 IU softgel daily which I would give for 2 weeks. The selenium can be toxic in large amounts, so that can be covered by using a little cooked egg or sunflower seed.

After 2 months her condition might be permanent. Silkies seem prone to wry neck, and can sometimes be a symptom of head injuries or Mareks disease.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

This post is an older post, but I have the same question. I didn't see a true answer though.

I have a chick that has wry neck. I have been giving it the selenium vitamin e ( goat gel) for 2 months now. It has improved but still has symptoms. I give it a pea size drop 2 times a day.

It seems like a long time to have a chick on the vitamin. Can the vitamin do more harm than good if a chick is on it for a long period? I have tried to Google it and didn't find an answer.

Your help would be greatly appreciated.

I think long term it probably does more harm than good.
Imho, if the cause of the Wry Neck was due to vitamin deficiency, it would have resolved in a couple of weeks. But then again, I honestly don't know how much vitamin e would be in a pea size drop of what you are giving her. You might want to calculate that and see if it's equivalent to what is normally recommended of 400IU Vitamin E. B1 is usually also given to birds with Wry Neck, for her size 1/4 tablet of B-Complex would what I would give. Selenium does help with the uptake of E, but it can be overdosed in chickens. A little egg or tuna has sufficient Selenium.

 

[LeeMcQuay]

LeeMcQuay, Vitamin E is a fat soluble vitamin usually, so it is not good to give more than a recommended daily dose. But if you can get a water soluble E, then it would not be dangerous to keep giving it at a higher dose. The goat gel only has 100 IU of E per 1 ml. If you were giving only a little, it may not have been enough. The problem with chickens though, is that who knows what the daily recommended dose is for any vitamin or mineral? We usually recommend giving a 400 IU softgel daily which I would give for 2 weeks. The selenium can be toxic in large amounts, so that can be covered by using a little cooked egg or sunflower seed.

After 2 months her condition might be permanent. Silkies seem prone to wry neck, and can sometimes be a symptom of head injuries or Mareks disease.

Where would I find the 400 IU softgel and I have no problem giving it cooked egg. I love this chick and just want it to have the best life possible. The poor thing also had curled toes that didn't correct themselves when I made the little shoes for it.

 

[LeeMcQuay]

Thank you.

So I see that I can purchase the 400 IU vitamin E at Walmart. Would I just break the capsule and put it and the vitamin B complex on the egg?

 

[LeeMcQuay]

Where would I find the 400 IU softgel and I have no problem giving it cooked egg. I love this chick and just want it to have the best life possible. The poor thing also had curled toes that didn't correct themselves when I made the little shoes for it.

I found the capsules. I should have did a search before asking you where to purchase them.

Thank you again for your help