How to give fish oil to broiler chickens?
Fish oil is a mandatory supplement that should be included in the diet of growing broilers. Its regular use not only increases the immunity of chickens against various diseases, including intestinal diseases, but also accelerates their development and growth, which is important when growing this breed of chickens. In addition, fish oil is used for the prevention and treatment of such common diseases in poultry as rickets and osteomalacia. This can significantly reduce losses.
Fat is a good alternative to vitamin preparations, it allows you to balance the ratio of fats and vitamins (specifically, vitamin A and D) in the daily poultry diet. It is especially useful to add fish oil during the season when natural vitamins are not available (winter and spring), and for broilers raised indoors, it can be fed periodically throughout the year. It helps to absorb calcium and build strong bone mass so that the bird can support its considerable weight.
Before introducing this vitamin into the daily poultry menu, you should know how to properly feed fish oil to broiler chickens, namely:
- at what age to apply;
- how much to add;
- how to mix.
When can I start giving fat to chickens?
Fish oil can be added to feed from day five of chicks. First, it must be given once a day in a small amount. As the chickens grow older, the dose should be increased.
Experienced broiler breeders recommend giving fat in courses, for example, feeding for 7 days with the addition of the drug, and 7 days with pure feed. The daily consumption of fish oil by a bird can provoke diarrhea in it.
The drug should be stored in a place protected from light, since the vitamin A contained in it decomposes under the influence of sunlight, and vitamin D is transported into the poisonous toxysteriol.
Dosage
The first addition is no more than 0.2 ml of the preparation for one chicken (per day). For grown-up chickens, the amount of fish oil can be brought up to 0.5 ml per head. Adult broilers can be mixed with fat in the feed at the rate of 2 to 5 ml per bird.
A week before slaughtering broilers, fish oil should be eliminated from the poultry diet, as it can give the meat a fishy smell.
Method of adding
Fish oil is recommended to be added to mash... In order for it to be evenly distributed, immediately before mixing, the fat should be diluted with warm water in a 1: 2 ratio. Then add this water to the feed and mix thoroughly. Many poultry farmers add 0.5 tsp for the convenience of calculations. for every kilogram of mash.