WATER, VITAMINSMINERALS AND OTHER ADDITIVES
By Bob Vaughn
First, this is not about medications, antibiotics etc. to resolve health problems. That is another whole subject. This is a discussion of supplements routinely given to healthy birds in the normal course of daily care. The following is not the result of scientific study, but just my observations and our methods after over 50 years of tending birds.
We start newly born chicks with plain slightly warmed water for the first two or three weeks and then put about half the recommended amount of vitamin/minerals/electrolytes (v/m/e) in the water about every third day or so until they are almost feathered in. Thenwe give a full dose of v/m/e’s in the water every three days or so from then on until they mature. The same or slightly more oftenfor adult birds when they are molting, under stress, or during breeding season. We feed commercial feed that is supposed to havethe basic vitamin/minerals and so don’t overdo supplementing this. Except that when birds are confined inside during breeding season a little cod liver oilis also sprinkled on the feed each day.
I like to give clean fresh water, nothing added, as much as possible. I haven’t made a scientific study, but in over 50 years of hand watering (maybe a couple of those years automatic waterers were used) it has appeared noticeable to me that the birds drink more plain water than water that has anything added to it. Cool fresh water in the summer, and warm but not hot water during the cold winter months. Remember how you like a coolrefreshing drink on a hot summer day and a nice warm drink to warm up on a cold blustery winter day. Well your birds feel the same. These are big birds and need a lot of fluids in their bodies for proper growth when young and maintenance for egg laying etc. when mature. I like to be sure they drink as much as they can.
Over the years we have used everything from high cost v/m/e’s to the cheapest feed store v/m/e’s. I can’t say that I’ve noticed a real difference between them. The main thing is to check the ingredients to see that there is a wide range of elements included. Some have a very limited number of ingredients and this isn’t just the cheapest ones, so avoid using these. One thing I check for is that manganese is included. The only time that I am aware of that we had a definite v/m deficiency was a few years ago when at several weeks of age the chicks started having a severe leg deformity at the hock (leg joint), to the point many could not walk. In checking some old books and with the U of M it looked like a manganese deficiency. Manganese is very important to heavy breed birds or they may slip a tendon on their leg joint. I immediately located a dairy cattle supplement with a high level of manganese and after giving this to the chicks for a few days the problem stopped as suddenly as it started. At that time we were getting feed from a local feed mill and I suspect they neglected including some additives and we were using v/m/e’s that didn’t include manganese. However, the manganese requirement is very low and only a trace amount is needed, so just be sure it is listed in the ingredients and then you should be okay.
Over the years we have tried some of the super duper elixir’s etc. advertised with no particularly noticeable results, so have generally not tried them for some time. We do use two things periodically, maybe once every few weeks or so at most, after the young birds are well feathered out and for the mature birds. Vinegar (one Tablespoon/gal) is supposed to help the acidity of the digestive tract to make for healthier birds and some people swear by it. The other is probiotics that are supposed to help enhance the good enzymes in the digestive tract, and we use this mainly after using antibiotics to help get things back to normal. Do either vinegar or probiotics help? I don’t know, but they probably don’t hurt anything and it makes me feel better that I’m trying to do something a little extra to help the birds.
The upshot of all this is that if you are feeding a balanced commercial feed and your birds are running outside with plenty of green grass and bugs to chase, they probably do not need too much in the way of supplemental additives in the way of vitamins, minerals, etc. In the winter when confined inside and especially during breeding season, then a higher level of v/m/e’s is warranted. However if you feel you see some advantages in your flock to feeding additives in addition to the basic v/m/e’s they will probably not do any harm when used in moderation and by all means do what you feel is best for your birds. It is tempting and I would use caution though not to use multiple additives at the same time because it could turn into too much of a good thing and cause a negative result.
And finally, if you are giving any additives in the water and you notice a definite drop in water usage by your birds, review the recommended dosages to be sure the mixture is not too strong, and also be sure you are not adding too many different things at once and have a bitter witches brew the birds don’t like to drink. It is important to keep Giants drinking plenty of water to maintain healthy birds.