Riboflavin Deficiency

[ktwebb]

Today marks day 6 of me treating one of my hens. I have given her a scrambled egg and 3mils of poultry cell every day and her one foot is still curled. She seems to be eating (normal feed) and drinking (I also have been adding poultry cell to her water, since not all the syringed dose makes it in her mouth) she has eating the egg I give her every day except today…doesn’t look like she ate any of it from this morning. What is the expected time it should take to start seeing some normalcy come back in her curled foot? There are no other symptoms that I can see, and she is isolated from the rest of the flock.
Thanks,
Tyler

 

[azygous]

When you are trying to correct a vitamin deficiency, you want as much of the vitamin as you can get, usually in an amount far exceeding the daily recommended dose. Poultry Cell only has 28mg of B-2. For a therapeutic dose you'd want twice that. Go to any store that sells people vitamins and pick up vitamin B-complex. Give one tablet daily for the next two to four weeks. You should soon see improvement. Often there is a neurological component with this deficiency, so giving a vitamin E capsule daily will add that therapy in case it's also an issue.

 

[ktwebb]

When you are trying to correct a vitamin deficiency, you want as much of the vitamin as you can get, usually in an amount far exceeding the daily recommended dose. Poultry Cell only has 28mg of B-2. For a therapeutic dose you'd want twice that. Go to any store that sells people vitamins and pick up vitamin B-complex. Give one tablet daily for the next two to four weeks. You should soon see improvement. Often there is a neurological component with this deficiency, so giving a vitamin E capsule daily will add that therapy in case it's also an issue.

So stop the poultry cell, and instead give a tablet daily. I can do that. Silly question, but I’ve only ever given liquid to my chickens so a tablet will be new to me. Just drop it in the mouth, making sure to miss the trachea?

 

[azygous]

That's correct. Give the tablet directly into the beak. Placing it far back on the tongue and closing the beak will direct the pill to go down the esophagus and avoid the airway. Chickens have no problem swallowing even very large pills that humans would find difficult. Chickens are designed by nature to have no need to chew things in order to swallow them.

 

[StinkyAcres]

So stop the poultry cell, and instead give a tablet daily. I can do that. Silly question, but I’ve only ever given liquid to my chickens so a tablet will be new to me. Just drop it in the mouth, making sure to miss the trachea?

I like to lubricate pills when I give them to my chickens; that way it just slips down their throats without an issue. I'd put something like coconut oil on the pill and pop it in the back of her mouth.

 

[ktwebb]

Thanks for the help. I will pick some up and start that regiment tomorrow.

 

[ktwebb]

A week or so of a b-complex pill each day, not much has changed…she is no worse, but no better…still eating a drinking from what I can tell…I make her a scrambled egg most days as well…just keep at it and hope for the best?

 

[azygous]

A deficiency should be close to being corrected by this time. But it can take up to four weeks sometimes.

However, we make suggestions to rule out simple things with simple fixes first. When it appears that the issue is not simple as we'd hoped, then we assume it's something more serious that has no fix or requires a complicated treatment.

There are viruses that can cause these curly toe symptoms. That's where it gets complicated. Which one?

Viruses usually have no cure, but sometimes the symptoms can be treated. The trick is to guess what virus might be in play in this case. There are tests, but you need to be reasonably sure what the virus is in order to test for it. There is no blanket test to see what virus comes up.

Sometimes all we can do is to make sure the chicken gets supportive care while we wait to see if the symptoms get worse or if new symptoms appear that can offer more clues as to what villain we're dealing with.

Right now, continue with the B-complex. Adding vitamin E to this daily vitamin sometimes helps as it also can fix nerve connections if they stem from a neurological issue. Give with a little egg for better absorption or give a scant sliver of a selenium tablet with the E. As long as she gets no worse and no new symptoms appear, you have every reason to expect that she will get better.

 

[ktwebb]

Alright, thank you for the info. I’ll continue what I am doing and keep an eye on her.

 

[ktwebb]

Today her other leg appears to be starting to go stiff, pointing backwards. She doesn’t have labored breathing, seems to be about as alert as normal, and I saw her eat after I gave her the b complex just now. Still pointing towards a deficiency? Or something else?