Vitamins.....how often should I dose them?

[Astrid]

Hello,
I had a hen who was a bit under the weather last week, so I bought a little 4 oz. squirt bottle of a vitamin supplement and added it to a gallon of water, as per the instructions. I can't recall the name of the preparation; it's in the barn (I saved the bottle for future reference) but I didn't have any choice; it was the only bottle on the shelf at my local Tractor Supply.

The stuff looked dark as molasses, but they loved it. I have four hens, and right away I noticed that the two with softer poo firmed right up, the sick hen bounced right back overnight, and her comb pinked up to normal color.

I just had to refill their waterer and I'm wondering........should I keep vitamins in their water all the time? Or should I dose them at regular intervals?
They get layer pellets (organic) some scratch and extra treats and kitchen scraps.

Thanks so much,
Astrid

 

[Pinenot]

I give mine a low dose all the time. It won't hurt them and if you want to boost their immune system more..feed them plain yogart, no flavoring.

 

[Astrid]

Well, is there a better source for vitamins? I spent $6 on 4 oz. and it only lasted a few days in one gallon of water! (they usually drink two gallons per week.....that's about $50 per month in chicken vitamins......and that's just crazy!)

Astrid

 

[chicknmania]

We wanted some vites for ours and read about kelp meal on ths site. It has lots of stuff they need in it. We bought twelve pounds for, I think it was around $15.00; maybe not quite that much. It lasts, as you only use a sprinkle in their food, and they really like it. (www.hoeggergoatsupply.com) You can also buy Aviacharge, it has lots of vitamins and minerals in it; a bit more money than the kelp, but not much. (Murray McMurray hatchery sells it, and you can find similar stuff on other poultry websites). But, if you want to stick with the stuff in the bottle, I'm not sure how often you'd give it to them.

 

[chicknmania]

Most of that stuff comes in smaller doses, too...you don't have to buy twelve pounds. We have 34 chickens, so that size worked best for us.

 

[chickenlady]

I like the aviacharge2000. The girls love it too. They all look better since I started giving it everyday and the egg production has really gone up. I paid about $17 and they claim this container will make 45 gallons worth. I only use half of what they say so I should be good for 90 gallons. That, for me, is a lot of water and worth $17.

 

[dlhunicorn]

The aviacharge was formulated specifically for organic certified. It is one of the few complete supplements I know of. You should use the full strength dosage in times of cold or heat stress.
I add mine to the cooked oatmeal I mix through their feed. I also add wheatgermoil....
Teh NRC requirements are way outdated and in reviewing the industry literature it is now common practice to add a supplement...vitE is one that is basically insufficient and the wheatgerm oil (or cheap human tabs pricked open if you see that is cheaper than the wheatgermoil) is a great source and one that I feel is well worth the extra cost.