Is feed enough?

[getreal]

I am wondering is there enough vitamins and minerals in store feed? I have been reading about all these deficiencies and wondering if I should be supplementing with something. I do put vitamins in their water occasionally. Any thoughts?

 

[azygous]

Commercial feeds are supposed to have all of the minerals, vitamins, and calories and protein chickens need. That isn't to say that some feeds mixed by small local mills my be deficient, though. Feeding commercial feed usually eliminates the need for extra vitamins.

 

[NatJ]

I am wondering is there enough vitamins and minerals in store feed? I have been reading about all these deficiencies and wondering if I should be supplementing with something. I do put vitamins in their water occasionally. Any thoughts?

In the USA, the commercially-produced chicken feeds are typically fine for chickens. You do not need to add anything.

You should not need to provide extra vitamins.

That takes care of most cases. Exceptions include:

--I was talking about the ones that say they are a complete feed, like chick starter or layer feed or all-flock feed. Things that are meant as treats would be different. Treats include scratch or mealworms or "flock blocks" or quite a few other things. The package will usually have "feeding instructions" that make it clear whether the product is a complete feed or treat.

--Any feed, from any company, can be missing some vitamins if it is too old or if it was stored wrong. Manufacturing errors can also cause problems. None of those is terribly common, but they are things to keep in mind if your chickens appear to have problems. If you ever open a bag of feed and find mold, that is also a problem.

--Ducks who eat chicken feed can have deficiencies. They do need certain things added.

--If a chicken or duck needs more vitamins, they almost certainly need more of a specific vitamin. Giving them more of a different vitamin will not help anything. Overdoses of some vitamins can be dangerous, so it is not good to just give extra of all vitamins.

 

[Kiki]

The commercially made feed is enough if that is all you feed.

People start running in to deficiencies when they feed too many treats.