Vitamin D supplement?

[5chicks4us]

Quote:
And how do you give that to chickens? On their food?

Juliette

Yes, right on there food. It will coat it and a little goes a long way. Chickens are pretty tiny guys so you don't want them to have too much Vit A or Vit D. I probably wouldn't want to give them a vitamin D pill because those are for human adults and (as far as I know) there is no RDA for vitamin D for chickens. I would be afraid to overdose them, which could lead to kidney problems.

I would also not use infant formula on my chickens. Infant formula contains corn syrup and known neurotoxins (glutamic acid -MSG, and aspartic acid). I wouldn't want those in my chickens as much as I don't want them in me later via their eggs or meat.

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
And how do you give that to chickens? On their food?

Juliette

Yes, right on there food. It will coat it and a little goes a long way. Chickens are pretty tiny guys so you don't want them to have too much Vit A or Vit D. I probably wouldn't want to give them a vitamin D pill because those are for human adults and (as far as I know) there is no RDA for vitamin D for chickens. I would be afraid to overdose them, which could lead to kidney problems.

I would also not use infant formula on my chickens. Infant formula contains corn syrup and known neurotoxins (glutamic acid -MSG, and aspartic acid). I wouldn't want those in my chickens as much as I don't want them in me later via their eggs or meat.

There are quite a few good poultry supplies sites on the web that offer Vitamin D pills for poultry.

Chris

 

[dragonlair]

I haven't had any problems putting 1 Vit D pill in a 2 gallon jug of water and giving it to the girls. The shells hardened up and they are healthy and happy. I also tend to keep my hens until they die, and I've had a bunch with me for several years with no health problems. They don't get it during the spring, summer and early fall.

 

[Uzuri]

Thanks Cris, that's a lot of interesting information. I'll take a crack at the cod liver oil. It seems like it's only a couple of my girls that are giving me thin shells -- likewise, they seem to be the ones pecking the eggs -- so I'll try to get it to them first.

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
How much is the protein of the feed you are using and is soy or animal based protein?

Chris

 

[Uzuri]

No idea if it's soy or animal and I can't seem to find an ingredient list online for what I use, so I'd have to check. It's 17%, and I add calf-manna -- I'm not real scientific about it, but I'd say I mix it in a way to get it to about 19%. They generally don't get treats, or if they do it's almost always meat scraps.

Better feed doesn't appear to be available in this area.

Edit: Just from what I see people saying about the brand I use on this site (Kalmbach), I think it's soy. The only other brand sold in the area I know to be soy (and also 17%).

 

[Billie duck mom]

How often do you supplement the feed with vitamin D?

 

[robbiebobbie]

I ran into the thin shells this fall/early winter when they got almost no sun. I added my Vit D3 pills to their water and their shell quality improved significantly.

How much did you add to their water per gallon?

 

[robbiebobbie]

I ran into the thin shells this fall/early winter when they got almost no sun. I added my Vit D3 pills to their water and their shell quality improved significantly.