Vitamins in water...

[KettermanHillCoop]

Ugghhh...like everything I do a forum search on...it's "yes, it's good"..."no, it's awful"...lol Makes my head spin.

After staring dumbfounded at the shelf of vitamins at the local Tractor Supply and reading EVERY bottle...I bought a Durvet brand vitamin that you add to their water. Durvet Layer Boost with Omega-3. It says on the bottle, "Vitamins, electrolytes, enzyme, omega 3 and marigold. Viable direct fed microorganisms"

Since I have no idea what sort of life my chickens had before I rescued them and the poor things were living on Cheerios and Raisin Bran for the three weeks they were hanging out at my work before their rescue. I thought perhaps it would be a good idea now that they have a home to give them some vitamins to make up for the month (at least) that they weren't getting the proper nutrition.

Aside from the "it's good", "it's awful" tennis match I just read...considering my chickens situation, should I continue with these vitamins for a little bit at least? If so...how long?

 

[RonP]

A body can only absorb so much... vitamin supplements are great if a regular diet is lacking.

As with humans, a healthy diet will provide all the birds "needs".

That said, same as with humans, if the body does not need additional vitamins or minerals, they will just come out as waste.

 

[barred2rock]

Looking at the ingredients, they're already included in most store bought chicken feeds, except the flak seed if you're not using a Omega-3 enhanced feed. While it won't harm them, as long as you follow the directions, it's unnecessary. Personally I'd save it for emergencies or boost for shipped chicks in the future.

 

[lazy gardener]

You've already bought them, yes? So... no sense dumping them. The biggest issue I see is that they have electrolytes in them. Lytes are not recommended except for stress, illness, or dehydration situations. If you want to use them up, you might try using them 1 - 2 days/week. When you add anything to the water, it's a good idea to dump the water every 24 hours, b/c a lot of additives will grow bacteria.

Quote: Ugghhh...like everything I do a forum search on...it's "yes, it's good"..."no, it's awful"...lol Makes my head spin.

Yep. Ask a simple question. 10 people will give you 12 different answers. All I can suggest is that you sift through the responses, and choose what makes sense to you. After a while, you will find a few BYC members who seem to "think like you do" and have a flock management style that somewhat resembles your management style. Aside from that, all I can suggest is that you do the homework. Any topic related to poultry management can easily result in an evening spent reading related scientific studies and articles that will help you come to your own conclusions about what is and what is not pertinent to your husbandry goals.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Ugghhh...like everything I do a forum search on...it's "yes, it's good"..."no, it's awful"...lol Makes my head spin.

After staring dumbfounded at the shelf of vitamins at the local Tractor Supply and reading EVERY bottle...I bought a Durvet brand vitamin that you add to their water. Durvet Layer Boost with Omega-3. It says on the bottle, "Vitamins, electrolytes, enzyme, omega 3 and marigold. Viable direct fed microorganisms"

Since I have no idea what sort of life my chickens had before I rescued them and the poor things were living on Cheerios and Raisin Bran for the three weeks they were hanging out at my work before their rescue. I thought perhaps it would be a good idea now that they have a home to give them some vitamins to make up for the month (at least) that they weren't getting the proper nutrition.

Aside from the "it's good", "it's awful" tennis match I just read...considering my chickens situation, should I continue with these vitamins for a little bit at least? If so...how long?

@lazy gardener is correct do not add often maybe once a month but dump it after no more than 48 hours but you feed them a balanced food so should not need to worry maybe save till they molt when they can use a bit more

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

Okay, thanks. I just wasn't sure because of their unorthodoxed diet while "living " at work.... and Lord knows their life prior to that. I was thinking give them a little vitamin boost to get them caught up in the nutrition arena. I have a runt cabbage from my garden hanging for them to play with, oyster shells in a separate dish and the vitamin water...in addition to the layer feed. Oh.. and they truly enjoy sharing my hoagies at lunchtime...

 

[pennyJo1960]

In other words they are spoiled by you and you enjoy watching them as most of us do

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

In other words they are spoiled by you and you enjoy watching them as most of us do

Yes, chickens are pretty cool. I'm glad they chose me to rescue them.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Yes, chickens are pretty cool. I'm glad they chose me to rescue them.

I was too busy when I was young to watch them now I get to do it all the time better than tv