Recommendations for Vitamins

[jjthink]

Not always does every living being obtain the nutrients needed to survive and thrive through diet alone (she says as she eats chocolate while typing this...), especially nowadays when our soils have far less nutrients in them than even a few decades ago.

I have no doubt that many many birds end up ailing because of inadequate diets. Same as any other living being.

For years I have given my birds Avia Charge 2000 daily, except once a month when I give them ACV. They pretty much hate the chicken feed though they do eat it, and they get other foods to enhance their lives - fruits, veggies, seeds, etc. - these thinsg give them so much joy. Since this is probably not a perfectly balanced diet the Avia Charge hopefully compensates for any deficiencies. That my roo is now ~9 years of age tells me that he is thriving on this regimen. It's an extremely inexpensive protocol, especially considering that if my birds are ill, they receive medical care, much more expensive. An ounce of prevention.......

JJ

 

[crystal1957]

Your posted picture is amazing. Beautiful!! True jjthink BYC Addict

 

[joebryant]

Cynthia, hopefully mine will arrive within a day or two. Starting tomorrow and for three days I'm going to be feeding mine a special diet after my having wormed them with Valbazin this morning. Today I bought three dozen eggs, nine cans of Frisky beef cat food, and I am making a gallon of buttermilk for the three days. So each day, nine grown Orpingtons, six silkies, and eleven five-week-old chicks will be sharing a dozen scrambled eggs, three cans of beef cat food, and a little more than a quart of buttermilk.
Question: If the Avia Charge 2000 arrives before I feed them on Monday, can't I just add some to the buttermilk? If so, how much? Thanks

 

[Miss Lydia]

I had not heard of Avia charge till reading this. I do have Poultry drench and used it on my birds when they were molting just to help them through. but I am getting the avia charge I like the idea of natural compared to propylene glycol in the Poultry drench

 

[True Grit]

I've been using Vi-tal from Randall Burkey, About 3.99 and you use an eighth of a teaspoon per 2 qts or so. It has lasted me 6 months for the 5 birds. I just ordered some more but they sent me VetRx instead, which has some fascinating reading material with it. Says it is good for treating colds and roup, whatever that is, scaly legs and eye worm. Based on a formula in use since 1874. Its ingredients are alcohol, Canadian Balsam, Camphor, Oil Origanum, Oil Rosemary in cornoil base. Smells pretty much like Vapo-rub. You can also rub it on their combs and wattles. The treatment for eye worm is something I hope I never have to do.

 

[jjthink]

If of any help to anyone, here's info from the Avia Charge 2000 label:

This all natural nutritional supplement contains 70+ naturally chelated minerals. 23 vitamins & antioxidants, 22 essential amino acids, numerous enzymes, natural immunostimulants, and body & blood-building nutrients that will improve your bird's health, fertility, performance, endurance, overall condition and welfare.

Ingredients: hydrolized fish proteins & oils, plant derived enzymes, lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation extract, citrus acid, aspegillus niger fermentation, aloe vera, bacillus subtillus fermentation extract, garlic.

Label says 1 tsp per gallon but I dilute a lot more for palatability, and use everyday (except ACV days now and then).
JJ

 

[Diannastarr]

am trying whole oats, in the feed & planted in raised beds with a wheat grass combo with the oats for my chicken run, i leave them in the open run with open chicken coop every morning to go run out & play & to lay eggs, then they are out to free range,and they can come & go as they want,My Daughter is a Master herbalist , & told me that nettles are very good for chickens, & i eat dried nettles to plus other dried weeds, for my health , I will post a list from her, as what weeds are the best for our chickens , but for now i found some good info on oats...! from .extension.org, =
Oats (Avena sativa)The composition of the hull can vary by 20% to 45%, resulting in a wide range of nutrient contents across different types of oats. The amino acid profile of the protein present in oats is similar to that of wheat. Oat grain contains significantly higher levels of lysine, methionine, and cystine than other cereals.
In the past, oats were used sparingly in poultry diets primarily because, aside from having a high fiber content, oats contain beta-glucans. Beta-glucans are antinutritional factors that reduce nutrient availability. The availability of feed enzymes has led to renewed interest in "alternative" grains, including oats. Enzyme supplementation of oats has been shown to compensate for the antinutritional factors and improve growth performance in broilers.
Whole oats have a high fiber content. Poultry are not able to digest fiber very well, so the inclusion of oat grain in poultry diets reduces the availability of dietary energy and other nutrients. Because of this combination of high fiber and low energy, oats are better suited for use in pullet developers and breeder diets. Inclusion of oats in diets for replacement pullets has been shown to reduce mortality and cannibalism and to make the birds more resistant to the effects of heat stress. Feather pecking is a common problem in systems where the birds are not caged, and the addition of low levels of oat hulls, composing approximately 3% of the diet, during the rearing period has been shown to reduce feather pecking in flocks of laying hens. Inclusion of small amounts of oat hulls negatively impacts pellet quality.
Oats contain more oil than other cereals. The oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, including the essential fatty acid linoleic acid. Because of this oil content, feeding poultry diets composed of more than 25% oats is reported to cause off flavors in chicken meat.
Nutrient Content of Oats

(from Feedstuffs Ingredient Analysis Table: 2011 Edition, by Amy Batal and Nick Dale, University of Georgia)

• Dry matter: 90%
• Metabolizable energy: 2550 kcal/kg (1160 kcal/lb.)
• Crude protein: 11.5%
  • Methionine: 0.20%
  • Cysteine: 0.21%
  • Lysine: 0.40%
  • Tryptophan: 0.18%
  • Threonine: 0.28%
• Crude fat: 4.0%
• Crude fiber: 10.5%
• Ash: 4%
  • Calcium: 0.10%
  • Total phosphorus: 0.35%
  • Nonphytate phosphorus: 0.14%

Naked Oats

Unlike oat groats, which are whole oats that have had the hull removed through mechanical means, naked oats (Avena nuda; also called hull-less oats) lose their hulls during the harvesting process. Because they have no hulls, naked oats are lower in fiber than regular oats. They are also higher in protein, fat, and energy content. Naked oats contain the same beta-glucans as whole oats. Canadian research indicates that naked oats can compose up to 60% of the diet of laying hens, replacing the corn, soybean meal, and oil. At this level, there is no loss in production, but feed efficiency is reduced. Using diets composed of 30% naked oats had no negative effect on feed efficiency.