Can chickens be given s alt: the benefits and harms of the product when it is impossible to add to the diet

Every farmer knows that minerals must be present in the diet of poultry. But many poultry farmers doubt whether s alt can be given to chickens and chickens. This mineral substance consists of sodium useful for birds and harmful chlorine. Therefore, you need to add s alt to the feed carefully, observing the dosage, and in certain cases it is better to refuse to use the additive.

Does chicken need s alt?

S alt is a mineral, and mineral elements must be present in the diet of birds. They have a positive effect not only on the physical condition of chickens, but also on bone tissue, metabolism, and the functioning of internal organs.Mineral Supplemented Chicken Gives More Eggs

S alt must be given to chicks. Without this additive, the young show cannibalism, the chickens begin to peck each other to deep wounds in order to get to the s alty blood.

If a poultry farmer raises chickens without a range or with a rare range, does not use compound feed with a s alt content, then he should give a mineral element regularly.

What's the use?

Without sodium chloride, the body of chickens cannot function fully. Additive required for:

• maintaining water-s alt balance;
• disinfection inside the body;
• destruction of pathogenic intestinal microflora.

Sodium deficiency causes disruption of the heart muscle and other muscle structures, negatively affects the functionality of the digestive system. Laying hens are given a sodium supplement to increase egg production.

Is there any harm?

S alt can harm chickens if it is included in the diet in excess. The result is severe intoxication, in most cases ending in death. Moreover, death occurs in a short time - about 10 hours. And the increase in symptoms of intoxication is noted within 3-4 days after consuming an excess amount of the mineral.

The lethal dose for an adult is 4 grams per 1 kg of body weight. Poisoning is detected by the following symptoms:

• strong thirst - the bird often drinks water;
• excited behavior;
• out of vomit;
• rapid but heavy breathing;
• redness or blueness of the skin;
• impaired motor ability, staggering and falling of the bird when walking.

The dying state is accompanied by convulsions.

If the listed symptoms appear, and it is likely that the chickens have eaten an excess amount of s alt, then immediate resuscitation measures are required. First of all, the chickens need to be given a large amount of water, and not poured into the drinker, but made so that the pets drink everything. If the chickens are in such a bad condition that they cannot drink, then they will have to give them water by force: open their beak with your fingers and pour the liquid into their mouths with a syringe.

Some farmers after soldering give sick chickens vodka or vegetable oil in the amount of 10 ml per individual. But about this method of treatment, you should talk to a veterinarian.

To restore the body, chickens are given a decoction of flaxseed, a glucose solution. It is also recommended to lower the sick bird into a basin of cold water.

Feeding rules

Adding s alt to the diet of chickens should be done very carefully. The daily amount of the mineral added to the feed of adult chickens should not exceed 1% of the total dry weight of the cooked food. If the norm is determined based on the weight of the bird's body, then one adult should not consume more than 1.5 grams of s alt per day.

The mineral component is usually added to liquid mixers where it dissolves. To make it easier to estimate the optimal dosage per livestock, below is an approximate summer menu for a day for one individual:

• grain - 50 g;
• fresh herbs - 50g;
• flour mass - 50 g;
• bone meal - 2g;
• meat - 15g;
• shredded shell rock - 5g;
• s alt - 0.5 g.

A diet that promotes egg production during the winter months might be:

• grain - 50 g;
• boiled potatoes - 100 g;
• liquid mash - 30g;
• sunflower meal - 8 g;
• fermented milk products - 100 g;
• herbal flour - 10g;
• bone meal - 2g;
• crushed chalk - 3g;
• s alt - 0.5 g.

Chickens are given finely ground s alt. Add it to dry food in an amount of 1%. It is allowed to give the mineral from the 10th day of the life of the young. One young bird per day should receive no more than 0.05 g. When the chickens reach the age of 50 days, the daily dose can be increased to 0.1 g.

When is it not recommended to add s alt?

Don't give s alt:

• free-range chickens;
• eating compound feed;
• broiler breeds (a special diet is prepared for them).

As long as the birds are free-ranging, s alt is not needed as a dietary supplement. Chickens are an omnivorous species, adapted to obtain pasture containing substances necessary for the bird's body.

Some poultry farmers in the summer, when chickens roam freely around the estate, do not feed them at all. And the birds are not suffering from nutritional deficiencies.

Chickens growing free get a good deal of their sodium chloride from the herbs they consume:

• plantain;
• clover;
• sorrel;
• dandelion.

Therefore, it is impossible to limit the consumption of fresh greens by chickens.

If the birds are kept without walking, but use mixed feed with the inclusion of s alt, then it is not necessary to additionally enrich the food with a mineral, otherwise there will be an excess. For the same reason, chickens should not be given food intended for other household animals, because the s alt content in it is higher than the norm for a bird's body. You can only give compound feed designed for poultry, in which the mineral component is optimal.

The farmer must remember that chicken s alt is not food, but only a food supplement that should be given with extreme caution. If there is doubt about the concentration of the mineral in any product, then putting this food in the feeder is not worth it. Otherwise, poultry farming will end badly

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