Why is salt added to chicken diets?

The elements chlorine and sodium are present in the body fluids, soft tissues and eggs of chickens. They help maintain the acid-base balance of the chicken's body, keep the osmotic pressure balance between cells and blood, and enable the chicken's tissues to retain a certain amount of water. In addition, they are also the raw material for forming gastric juice and gastric acid, can promote the activity of digestive enzymes, and play a major role in the digestion and absorption of fat and protein. Salt can improve the palatability of the diet, promote appetite, and increase feed utilization.

Therefore, salt is both an essential nutrient and a flavoring. If the chicken's diet is deficient in salt, it will cause loss of appetite and digestive disorders, retarded development in chicks, the appearance of feather-pecking vice, and reduced body weight, egg weight and egg production rate in laying hens. The salt content in chicken diets should be 0.37%-0.5%, and the amount used must be accurate. When formulating the diet, the salt content of animal-based feed should be considered, and then the amount of supplementary salt determined. For example, when salted fishmeal is used in the diet, its salt content must first be analyzed; otherwise, excessive use of salted fishmeal often causes salt poisoning.