Vitamins for pigeons: which ones are needed and how to give them correctly, dosage
Pigeons are bred in order to have someone to take care of in their free time, to admire the bird's flight. After all, fed birds always return home. Pigeon is a delicious dietary meat. Whatever the purpose of breeding these birds, they must be he althy. Vitamins are necessary for pigeons in the same way as for humans, but their relative and quantitative content is different.
What vitamins do pigeons need?
Vitamins, due to their importance for life, should be in the area of attention of the poultry breeder. The need for them in the body of pigeons is influenced by:
- age;
- physical activity;
- laying eggs;
- painful conditions;
- molt;
- weight;
- ambient temperature.
| Vitamin name | Supported vital functions and participation in organ formation | Which foods have the highest content |
| A | Visual acuity, plumage, bones, growth rate, high egg production, protective properties of mucous membranes in contact with the external environment. | Milk, fish oil, carrots, parsley, dandelion. |
| E (tocopherol) | Reproductive organs, immunity, fat metabolism. | Sprouted grains and legumes, dairy products, eggs, vegetable oils. |
| D | Calcium-phosphorus metabolism, bones, egg shells. | Yeast, fish oil, sunflower oil, herbs of the legume family and green parts of peas, soybeans, beans. |
| K | Increases blood clotting, participates in metabolism in connective tissues, egg formation. | Nettle, alfalfa, clover, green peas, tomatoes, carrots, spinach. |
| B1 (thiamine) | Immunity, nervous system, carbon metabolism. | Piece, greens, yeast, bran, soy, whey. |
| B2 (riboflavin) | Growth processes. | Beer yeast, sprouted grains, whey. |
| Protein and fat metabolism, enzymes, nervous system, antitoxin. | Yeast , cake, animal fats and proteins. | |
| Joints. | Grains, beets, yeast, legumes. | |
| Nervous , cardiovascular, digestive systems, metabolism. | Potatoes, yeast, carrots, bran, herbs, cabbage. | |
| Skin, blood burning, protein metabolism. | Yeast, grass, animal feed. | |
| Fish and animal feed. | B9 ( folic acid) | |
| Vegetables, soy, grass. | H (biotin) | |
| Beans. | C (ascorbic acid) | |
| Carrots, greens. |
How to give properly
At the end of winter, vitamin supplements become important even for free-range birds. The nutrition of captive pigeons is completely calculated by their owner and must be balanced all year round. Vitamins are added to food or water.
The most accurate dosage calculation is obtained in relation to body weight (milligrams per kilogram of body weight or micrograms per kilogram).The advantage of adding vitamins to the food rather than the water is that the water gets dirty quickly and it's best to change it before it's all drunk.
More dense food is processed in the digestive tract up to 4 hours, giving time for the drug to be absorbed into the intestinal wall. In addition, not all vitamins are water-soluble: A, D, E are soluble only in fats. They are best served with oily cake, fish oil, mixed with dry food.
Pigeons have a more intense metabolism, so for them the dosage is reduced within half the norm up to 1 year inclusive. Dry concentrated vitamins (including group B) are recommended to be given when there are strong signs of their deficiency. With slight growth retardation or other mild symptoms, increase the percentage of eggshells, sprouted grains, grass and feather flour, grated carrots in the feed.
Sick birds refuse to eat and drink. All the components necessary for recovery are injected by force, and a syringe is used for liquids.
Possible errors
An overdose of vitamins adversely affects the functioning of the liver. Other organs suffer as well. It is necessary to introduce pharmaceutical preparations gradually, stopping increasing the dose as soon as an improvement in the condition of the pigeons becomes noticeable. The feed may be balanced, but birds show signs of vitamin deficiency. This happens with diseases of the digestive tract.
| Type of hypovitaminosis | Treatment dose per day for 1 pigeon | Symptoms |
| A, D, E | 1-2 drops of fish oil for 10 days (A, D) .
During the laying period - 40-150 mcg of the concentrated powder of the preparation E. | Weakness, eye inflammation, dull feathers. |
| B3, B6, B9, B12 | 0.5g yeast, 30mcg, 10mcg, 30mcg respectively. | Anemia, neck paralysis, limb weakness, stunting, liquid plumage. |
| B5 | 50-70 mg (dosage given per 1 kg of feed). | Shaking limbs, crusts in the corners of the eyes and mouth, enlarged joints on the legs, liquid droppings, poor plumage. |
| B2 | 3-5 mg for 15 days. | Stunting, corneal hemorrhage, poor plumage, crooked fingers. |
| C | 5-10 mg. | Anemia, reduced immunity. |
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