Poultry Feeds & Nutrition
If poultry are expected to remain healthy and productive, they must consume adequate amounts of all the necessary nutrients. The quantity of each required nutrient varies depending on many variables like species of bird, age, productive state, environmental conditions and disease status. Fortunately, many nutritional deficiency problems can be identified by the unique symptom each exhibits.
Discussions in the answers and publications that follow will help increase the poultry caretaker's understanding of the birds' dietary needs and improve the nutritional health of the flock.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why do my birds have an absence of feathers on parts of their bodies?
- Why do my hens lay eggs with thin or soft shells?
- My laying hens look healthy but many are not laying and some hens that are laying suddenly die. What is wrong?
- Why do many of my growing birds develop a single twisted, crooked leg?
- What medications should I have in my chicken feeds?
- What types of feeds should I offer to my chickens?
- Should hens be full-fed or meal-fed and how much should they eat?
- Can whole soybeans be fed to poultry?
Publications
- MSUcares Poultry publications
- Minimizing Aflatoxin in Corn concentrates on the problem of fungal growth and mycotoxin formation in corn intended for use in animal feeds.
Other Poultry Information
- Feeding Quail is a discussion of nutritional concerns that the game bird producter should address when producing healthy birds. Includes diets formulated for various ages of quail.
- Ratite Nutrition and Feeding discusses the nutritional needs of ratites (ostrich, emu, rhea, etc.).