Ok, about a month ago I thought a chicken got hurt and was limping...

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I'm going to go get some durvet soluble vitamins here in a bit when my friend gets back with our car. That way I can rest assured that the riboflavin isn't the issue giving me so much trouble, but it really does seem to fit my lovelies symptoms perfectly.
 
missnu01 said:
The riboflavin does sound pretty spot on, going along in that vein would steamed soybeans help possibly?
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I've only just started to really dig into the aspects of nutrition, having become madly frustrated by Cargill / Purina / DuMor ... seems they'd rather deprive our chickens of essential nutrients, and feed 'em all aflatoxins, rather than give up a few pennies on the pound.

Soy contains natural toxins known as anti‐nutrients comprised of such factors as saponins, soyatoxin, phytates, protease inhibitors, oxalates, goitrogens and estrogens. This is not a health issue unless you are eating soy in large amounts each day.

Goitrogenic foods are already borderline in most feeds, which can be offset by iodine supplementation, but I'd look to increase thiamine (B1) and riboflavin (B2) in other ways. These seem to most often be an issue, as thiamine is blocked by medicated feeds, and thiaminase enzymes make it biologically unavailable. Riboflavin can be easily lost into water, and breaks down so quickly in light, that it's seriously difficult to get sufficient levels into livestock/poultry.

But, in efforts to increase these, I'm fearful of givin' far too much of other nutrients/vitamins ... so far? It looks like dairy products (esp. from w/in paper cartons) are helpful, and brewer's yeast, but by far and away: Marmite, a yeast extract spread, appears to be superior as a source.
 
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Cowcreekgeek, on the vitamin B2 deficiencies, you certainly have alot of references. It does fit the symptoms.

And that PoultryPedia site is great. I like the way it describes symptoms, it gives people a good starting point on what their chicken's symptoms could mean.
 
So I need to find marmite, and just put a dollop on their food? or how would one go about administering that to chickens...
Or would giving them yogurt once a day be enough to make sure that they are getting enough riboflavin? The chicken that has stopped limping definitely has a duck foot on the side it used to limp on. Me and that fella have become really close. And it happened all at once. He was standoffish for weeks and weeks, all the chicks and mama are. More so than the other chickens...anyway he wasn't any different, not even when he was limping...but then I went up one night to close the coop and he wasn't there, and I looked outside and he was huddled up under the chicken ramp, stuck in the mud...So I went and got him out and cleaned him off, and now he just follows me everywhere I go. And 2 days after the stuck in mud incident he stopped limping.... Perhaps I need to knock all the chickens in the mud and then clean them off since it did so well in making the one grateful...Lol.

Anyway thank you guys for helping me and my chickens through this. I'm going to go ahead and get the Durvet Vitamins, and start feeding more yogurt and such. IF there is anything that you guys might know of as well as that that would help just let me know.
 
missnu01 said:
So I need to find marmite, and just put a dollop on their food? or how would one go about administering that to chickens...
Or would giving them yogurt once a day be enough to make sure that they are getting enough riboflavin? The chicken that has stopped limping definitely has a duck foot on the side it used to limp on. Me and that fella have become really close. And it happened all at once. He was standoffish for weeks and weeks, all the chicks and mama are. More so than the other chickens...anyway he wasn't any different, not even when he was limping...but then I went up one night to close the coop and he wasn't there, and I looked outside and he was huddled up under the chicken ramp, stuck in the mud...So I went and got him out and cleaned him off, and now he just follows me everywhere I go. And 2 days after the stuck in mud incident he stopped limping.... Perhaps I need to knock all the chickens in the mud and then clean them off since it did so well in making the one grateful...Lol.

Anyway thank you guys for helping me and my chickens through this. I'm going to go ahead and get the Durvet Vitamins, and start feeding more yogurt and such. IF there is anything that you guys might know of as well as that that would help just let me know.
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Anything you wish to add can be just incorporated into their ordinary feed (ideally, usin' very little the first time, and progressively more, 'cause some can be more picky ~'-)

A think to watch for, as you try to treat any deficiency, is that foods oxidize. They can look good, and have no mold, but can change in such a way that they do no good, or even interfere w/ other nutrients/vitamins. So, if the food is old? Pick up a bag of a premium food, and slowly increase the amount of the new in w/ the old; you can still mix the other back in over time.

Switch their water out for an astringent solution by adding Apple Cider Vinegar to their water (but never in galvanized metal containers) at the rate of four teaspoons to the gallon. This will 'cut through' the coatings w/in and improve their uptake of the vitamins/nutrients as well, most esp. w/in young birds. And, you be sure 'n update us when they're all better ~'-)
 
I thought you had to get marmite in Australia (?)

I cheat. I buy those vitamin/electrolye packets from any poultry supply. They're good to have during the summer, too. A bag goes a long way. And they get leftovers, of course.
 
seminolewind said:
I thought you had to get marmite in Australia (?)

I cheat. I buy those vitamin/electrolye packets from any poultry supply. They're good to have during the summer, too. A bag goes a long way. And they get leftovers, of course.
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That's probably a much cheaper alternative, as marmite ain't exactly a low-cost food ~'-)
 
Well the saga continues....While playing with my favorite used to be limpy chicken I noticed that his crop was pretty large...slightly larger than a golf ball...it isn't hard or terribly soft...but I can like feel the food in there...this little fella is not short on energy or appetite, so is that size normal, or....? OMG...he still seems fine, and he eats like crazy...
I don't supply grit, I figure they pick at the dirt all day long so surely that is enough for them. I haven't felt of the other chickens crops yet.
I only noticed because it looked almost like the chicken's shoulder part was sticking out...but when he walks he looks like all the others, The shape of him I mean. Like while I was looking at just him it looked like his chest was puffed out, but when I saw him with the other chickens they all have the same basic shape. Anyway...so I'm going to go feel up some chickens....see if they all feel about the same.
 
Ok...good news I think...all the chickens have pretty full crops, So I will check again in the morning and see if they are any smaller..I took them a nice bucket of dirt up to the coop again just in case they need more grit. We have a huge pile of ground up rocks...some tiny bits, some large chunks...so on and so forth. So...going back to riboflavin lacking...
And I know marmite is only in Australia, but I also know that you can order anything from anywhere with the internet.
 

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