What harm can overfeeding vitamins to laying hens cause?

Some chicken raisers, in order to increase the egg production of hens, arbitrarily increase the amount of vitamins fed, resulting in vitamin excess in laying hens, which instead affects the growth and egg production of laying hens. Vitamins added to laying hen feed must be added strictly according to standards; arbitrarily increasing the dosage will harm laying hens.

Vitamin A The suitable content of vitamin A in laying hen feed is 4000 international units per kg. When the feeding amount exceeds the rearing standard, it can cause vitamin A excess in hens, manifested as depression or convulsions, decreased feed intake, and in severe cases refusal to eat and feather loss.

Vitamin D The suitable content of vitamin D in laying hen feed is 500 international units per kg. When the feeding amount exceeds the rearing standard, it can cause a large amount of calcium to be transferred out of the bone tissue of laying hens, and promote the absorption of calcium in the gastrointestinal tract, increasing the blood calcium concentration, with calcium depositing in the arterial walls, joints, renal tubules, heart and other soft tissues. Clinical manifestations include loss of appetite and diarrhea, kidney stones, and laying hens often die of uremia.

Vitamin E The suitable content of vitamin E in laying hen feed is 5 international units per kg. When fed in excess, it can cause fat metabolism disorders in laying hens, leading to excessive fatness or death from poisoning.

Vitamin K The suitable content of vitamin K in laying hen feed is 0.5 mg per kg. When fed in excess, because it stimulates inflammation of the gastrointestinal mucosa, the chickens show a sharp decrease in appetite and diarrhea, leading to a decline in egg production and, in severe cases, cessation of laying.

For vitamin excess in laying hens, the main focus is prevention: prepare the chicken diet reasonably according to the rearing standard. For flocks that have already developed the disease, vitamin feeding should be stopped immediately and sufficient drinking water supplied; generally they can gradually recover within 2 weeks. Wang Yanjuan