I think Poultry Cell changed their formula... Gave me a headache sniffing it.

[citychicks99]

I had a bottle of Poultry Cell from 2021 that I relied on any time my chickens didn't seem to do so well. It worked great and I thought it had a nice smell. I recently purchased a new bottle and when I used the two side by side, the color looked different (the new bottle was more oily) and the smell gave me a headache. I mixed this in with food and my chickens gobbled it up but I'm hesitating continuing it if it gives even me a headache. Not too sure what my other options are for vitamins. I heard Nutradench wasn't great. We have Kickin' Chicken at the local Tractor Supply but it looks like the fat content is pretty high. Any other suggestions?

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I had a bottle of Poultry Cell from 2021 that I relied on any time my chickens didn't seem to do so well. It worked great and I thought it had a nice smell. I recently purchased a new bottle and when I used the two side by side, the color looked different (the new bottle was more oily) and the smell gave me a headache. I mixed this in with food and my chickens gobbled it up but I'm hesitating continuing it if it gives even me a headache. Not too sure what my other options are for vitamins. I heard Nutradench wasn't great. We have Kickin' Chicken at the local Tractor Supply but it looks like the fat content is pretty high. Any other suggestions?

Any chance that the 2021 bottle used to smell the same, and has just faded over time?

Maybe compare the ingredient lists if you still have the old bottle. Otherwise, I dunno. If the chickens ate it, that's their thumbs up.

 

[citychicks99]

Any chance that the 2021 bottle used to smell the same, and has just faded over time?

Maybe compare the ingredient lists if you still have the old bottle. Otherwise, I dunno. If the chickens ate it, that's their thumbs up.

Might be kind of hard to see, but the bottle on the left is the older one and the bottle on the right is the newer one. They have definitely made it more potent, which is probably what is causing the headache.

Each ounce now has 410mg of iron vs 400mg. They've also upped the mineral content by a lot.. Lysine: 0.06% before (now 0.32%), Methione 0.07% before (now 0.16%). The vitamin A dose is also higher (26,000 I.U. per ounce before compared to 40,000 I.U. now). The potency of the other vitamins have also been increased. I'll have to give my chickens less of this stuff if I can't find a replacement.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Might be kind of hard to see, but the bottle on the left is the older one and the bottle on the right is the newer one. They have definitely made it more potent, which is probably what is causing the headache.

Each ounce now has 410mg of iron vs 400mg. They've also upped the mineral content by a lot.. Lysine: 0.06% before (now 0.32%), Methione 0.07% before (now 0.16%). The vitamin A dose is also higher (26,000 I.U. per ounce before compared to 40,000 I.U. now). The potency of the other vitamins have also been increased. I'll have to give my chickens less of this stuff if I can't find a replacement.

The mineral content has barely changed, as far as I can see:

The lysine and methionine (amino acids, aka protein building blocks) have gone up, and I would think that that is a bonus, because they are so often deficient in commercial feeds.

I didn't look at the other nutrients.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

- to add to the above for any readers new to chicken nutrition debates: the lysine and methionine are listed separately from the rest of the amino acids, because they are critical for chickens. They can be hard to supplement in chicken feeds that don't have animal protein in them.

(The rest of the amino acids follow the list of vitamins, starting with alanine. Most names of amino acids end in -ine, pronounced "een." So lysine=lye-seen, methionine=meth-I-oh-neen, etc.)

 

[citychicks99]

The mineral content has barely changed, as far as I can see:

View attachment 4217201 View attachment 4217203

The lysine and methionine (amino acids, aka protein building blocks) have gone up, and I would think that that is a bonus, because they are so often deficient in commercial feeds.

I didn't look at the other nutrients.

Ah yes, sorry, I thought those were minerals also.