Our pets have to have the utmost care and control regarding their health, they are not always healthy, there are many conditions that would cause their health to be affected. It is possible to identify these problems that afflict our pets, especially our domestic birds.
We often see birds showing various symptoms of lack of energy, depression and various illnesses. These may be signs of nutritional deficiencies or vitamin deficiencies in their daily diet. Most aviculturists have a pretty good idea of what vitamins their birds need and how important they are to their bodies.
There is no poultry lover who does not use vitamin supplements to optimize the diet he offers to his animals.
Vitamins necessary for our domestic birds and their nutrition.
It is important to understand that vitamins are essential organic components for the correct growth and functioning of the various organs that make up the body; that is, they are natural elements included in food and found in very small portions. This is because the body cannot produce the amount of vitamins necessary for physiological needs, they must be supplemented with the daily diet.
It should be noted that there are two types of vitamins to meet the nutritional needs of ornamental birds. Some are of natural origin and are found in food, while others are of synthetic origin and are artificially manufactured in laboratories, and sold in the best veterinary pharmacies in the form of capsules, tablets, drops or powders.
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Vitamin A
Vitamin A is found in yellow and green vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, carrots and pumpkins, as well as in products such as cod liver oil sold in pet specialty stores.
Vitamin A deficiency in birds and their diets is associated with reduced fertility or increased susceptibility to tumors, bacterial infections and cases of tuberculosis in these animals.
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Vitamin D
Vitamin D is also found in cod liver oil. Certain species of birds are able to synthesize it at the skin level of the organism. It is a very valuable nutritional element to prevent rickets, especially in young chickens.
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Vitamin E
Vitamin E is a very valuable nutrient to prevent liver failure. It is also effective in maintaining red blood cells in good condition. It is a nutritional supplement that should be offered to birds with severe malnutrition, intestinal problems, muscular complications, weak immunity and low reproductive performance.
Foods containing vitamin E include peanuts, soybeans, nuts, brown rice, olives, sunflowers and many others. It should be noted that in chickens, a lack of this nutrient causes health problems and, ultimately, death of the embryo. In adults, vitamin E deficiency causes neurological complications that should and can be avoided.
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Vitamin K
The importance of vitamin K is for proper blood clotting in young birds fed a fat-free diet. Vitamin K can be provided to birds and poultry through foods such as cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, cabbage, bran, egg yolk and cheese.