How do chickens get certain vitamin deficiencies if they eat their required commercial feed and scra

What are the symptoms she died from? Exactly what makes you think it is a vitamin a deficiency? Any symptoms you can think of will help to figure this out. Are you planning to worm them? I would use Safeguard.

 

I was actually just reading about this! Apparently, many illnesses and parasites cause damage to the digestive system, affecting the ability to absorb nutrients. A way to check if this is going on is to feed grains and see if any birds are passing undigested grain. Evidently this is a problem in broilers worldwide. The paper said the farmers tend to blame poor grain, but that is not really the case since so many illnesses can cause digestive problems.

Let me find the link so you can read it in case I got anything wrong...got it!


http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm090

 

Not knowing exactly what your friend was feeding her birds, tough to tell what's going on. I can say that there could possibly be a management problem if there wasnt any attempt to treat scaly leg mites, and the same could possibly be true as far as proper nutrition goes...if this is the case.

 

X2. OP mentioned layer feed and "scraps". Formulated feeds are so birds can get nutrients they won't find on range. If they range, eat "scraps", they may choose more of what is insufficient nutritive value. Water soluble supplements are used worldwide because what they don't eat can be received in water. A nutrient depleted bird has a weak immune system, and a weak immune system means more susceptibility to disease. Internal parasites can also create vitamin deficiencies. Moulting is especially a tough time and proper supplementation benefits them greatly. Best thing to do in the case of those birds is check them for ectoparasites and treat accordingly, supplement water/feed, deworm them since they likely haven't been.

 

"Because stabilized dry, vitamin A supplements are almost universally used, it is unlikely that a deficiency will be encountered. However, if a deficiency does develop due to inadvertent omission of the vitamin A supplement or poor mixing, up to 2 times the normally recommended level should be fed for ~2 wk. The dry, stabilized forms of vitamin A are the feed supplements of choice. Forms that can be administered through the drinking water are available and usually result in fast recovery than medication of the feed."
http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/pou..._poultry/vitamin_deficiencies_in_poultry.html