Just like humans, chickens can have a deficiency in vitamins too! These deficiencies can be detrimental to your flock’s health if you fail to discover and treat them in time. This issue is most severely present in chicks, so action must be taken immediately. If a condition like this goes without treatment, the odds of permanent damage and early death increase drastically. Luckily, chickens can be very expressive over their needs without even trying. Here’s how to identify and treat vitamin E deficiencies in chickens.
Signs
When it comes to a vitamin E deficiency, your chickens will probably have a few physical clues that something’s wrong. Some common symptoms of a vitamin E deficiency include: wry neck, poor growth, enlarged hocks, paralysis, inability to walk, muscular dysfunction, decreased fertility, hemorrhages, poor feed conversion, bowed legs, greenish/blue skin, involuntary head movement, decrease in egg production, and encephalomalacia (or brain damage). If you notice any of these signs, it’s critical to seek help immediately.
Treatment
Once you recognize a vitamin E deficiency among your flock, the next step is to reverse it. Fortunately there are many routes you can take to increase your flock’s vitamin E supply. Adding foods that are high in vitamin E is a quick and easy way to treat this deficiency. Sunflower seeds, spinach, pumpkin seeds, nettle, chard, and dandelion are all high in vitamin E and healthy for your chickens to snack on daily! Though we don’t recommend attempting to treat a deficiency without seeing a licensed animal healthcare professional first. It’s always best to get a professional opinion when possible.
Benefits
Incorporating more vitamin E into your flock’s diet can be beneficial even when there’s no deficiency present. Vitamin E works wonders on a chicken’s health, resulting in a better hatch rate, an increase in egg production, a stronger immune system, higher resistance to heat stress, and higher levels of vitamin E in eggs! Another quick way to boost your flock’s vitamin E intake is with a multi-vitamin or seaweed-based soluble vitamin supplements.
A vitamin E deficiency is a serious health concern and should not be taken lightly. As a chicken keeper, it’s your duty to check-in on your flock to spot signs of this condition early enough to save your chickens from permanent damage or even death. As mentioned before, we recommend seeing a vet for a proper diagnosis. Once you know for certain what your chickens are up against, you can take more intentional steps to treat them.