What are the reasons and functions of adding salt to chicken feed?

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 moisture. In addition, they are the raw materials 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, stimulate appetite, and increase feed utilization.

Therefore, salt is both an essential nutrient and a flavoring agent. If the chicken's diet lacks sufficient salt, it will cause loss of appetite, digestive disorders, stunted growth in chicks, and feather-pecking behavior. In laying hens, body weight and egg weight will decrease, and the laying rate will decline. The salt content in the chicken's diet should be 0.37% to 0.5%, and the amount must be accurate. When formulating the diet, the salt content of animal-based feed should be considered, and then the amount of supplemental salt should be determined. For example, when using salted fish meal in the diet, its salt content must first be analyzed; otherwise, excessive use of salted fish meal often causes salt poisoning.