Improvement of flock productivity through supply of vitamins for higher laying performance and better egg quality

Abstract

An adequate supply of all nutrients, including proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and water, has to be provided to support maximum productivity of laying hens. Among these nutrients, vitamins are particularly important, since they are essential for optimum health as well as normal physiological functions of the hens. As most vitamins cannot be synthesized by poultry in sufficient amounts to meet physiological demand, they must be obtained from the diet. The absence from feed or impaired absorption or utilization of vitamins can lead to specific deficiency disorders. This review reports on the occurrence and the physiological functions of all vitamins and summarizes research related to the requirements for and the beneficial effects of supplemental vitamins for laying hens. The recommendations for dietary supplementation of vitamins from various organizations are compared and put into perspective of modern poultry genotypes and current husbandry conditions. As there is good evidence that the minimum dietary vitamin levels, required to prevent clinical deficiencies may not support optimum health, performance and welfare of poultry under today's conditions it is recommended to include a safety margin to the vitamin requirements of laying hens.

Nutritional significance of amino acids, vitamins and minerals as nutraceuticals in poultry production and health – a comprehensive review

“…Vitamin E, selenium and carotenoids are the prime antioxidant components in poultry feed (Surai & Kochish, 2019). Weber (2009) reported that deficiency signs of clinical vitamin E include exudative diathesis, muscular myopathy and encephalomalacia in chicks (disturbance of the nervous system), as well as some subclinical vitamin E deficiency such as slow growth performance, diminished fertility and frequent health problems. Therefore, the antioxidant properties of vitamin E were investigated regarding its vital role in the prevention of diseases that occur due to lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation via a free radical mechanism (Colombo 2010; Rizvi et al 2014).…”

“…Moreover, vitamin E has a significant role in the improvement of health by boosting both humoral and cell-mediated immune functions (Rizvi et al 2014). Vitamin E protects the phospholipids of sub-cellular and cellular membranes from the destruction by the lipid oxidation and therefore maintains the functionality and morphological integrity of tissues and cells of the organism (Weber 2009). Vitamin E has been found to improve antioxidant defense, immune response and physiological functions of birds (Habibian et al 2014;Min et al 2018).…”

“…Dietary vitamin E supplementation for commercial broilers significantly improved the immune response and antioxidant concentrations in the liver (Karadas et al 2016). Also, αtocopherol helps in the resistance and prevention of many diseases through its modulatory effect on the immune system by the macrophage activation and antibody production (Weber 2009). The levels of dietary vitamin E (40 or 80 IU/kg feed) may alter the immune function, including the innate cellular oxidative immunity of broiler chickens (Perez-Carbajal et al 2010).…”

Nutritional requirements of meat-type and egg-type ducks: what do we know?

“…Biotin is a coenzyme that has fundamental roles in carbohydrate, protein, and lipid metabolism [ 116 ]. Diets containing inadequate amounts of biotin can lead to fatty liver and kidney syndrome, a low hatchability rate, low growth rate, and the increased occurrence of foot pad dermatitis in birds [ 114 – 119 ].…”

“…Thiamine or vitamin B 1 acts as a co-enzyme that participates in the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvic acid and α-ketoglutaric acid, thereby leading to the production acetyl-coenzyme A (CoA) and succinyl-CoA, which are involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids [ 116 ]. Feeding poultry a diet deficient in thiamine leads to reductions in appetite, growth, carcass yield, and hatchability, as well impaired carbohydrate metabolism and a high mortality rate [ 147 – 150 ].…”