Too much b vitamin for chickens?

[Jenbirdee]

My chickens keep eating the duck’s food is it too much b vitamin ? I’ve been adding nutritional yeast .

 

[NatJ]

Some Flock Raiser feeds are meant to be suitable for both ducks and chickens. So I would guess the level of vitamins in your duck food would not hurt chickens.

But that's a guess, so I'll tag someone who knows more, in hopes that he has a definite answer.
@U_Stormcrow is there an upper limit for B vitamins in a chicken's diet?
If there is a limit, is it likely that duck-level supplementation would reach that limit?

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

B vitamins are called Water Soluble which means excess is cleared primarily by the kidneys. I would not worry much about high B Vitamins.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Some Flock Raiser feeds are meant to be suitable for both ducks and chickens. So I would guess the level of vitamins in your duck food would not hurt chickens.

But that's a guess, so I'll tag someone who knows more, in hopes that he has a definite answer.
@U_Stormcrow is there an upper limit for B vitamins in a chicken's diet?
If there is a limit, is it likely that duck-level supplementation would reach that limit?

@Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay has the correct answer, and the right reason.

As you might suspect, there are few studies on too much vitamins, most people are interested in how little they can get away with, not how much is too much to add. That said, there's a relatively small broiler study (out of Brazil) which is short term (because they are broilers!) that looked at increasing the niacin and two other B vitamins 6 fold over recommended minimums (they used 50mg/kg for the base Niacin level, that's higher than most non-Broiler feeds in the US whose Niacin levels are disclosed).

50mg/kg is the recommended maintenance for generic adult "duck", btw, and is a good guess for what you will find in an "All Flock" or "Waterfowl" feed not seperately disclosed.

Anyhow, at 300 mg/kg niacin levels, and also 6x the base B2 (Riboflavin) and B9 (Folic Acid), they found... No effect.

So, there may well be some upper limit, but its well above what you will likely find in a feed bag. and being water soluable, they will get flushed from your birds very rapidly. The biggest ill effect you will likely see in a flock from too much B vitamin is that it renders any Amprolium they might be getting (medicated feed) ineffective, which is why many of us don't recommed throwing vitamin boosters at chicks at the same time they are getting medicated feeds.

Hope that helps a bit?

 

[Jenbirdee]

@Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay has the correct answer, and the right reason.

As you might suspect, there are few studies on too much vitamins, most people are interested in how little they can get away with, not how much is too much to add. That said, there's a relatively small broiler study (out of Brazil) which is short term (because they are broilers!) that looked at increasing the niacin and two other B vitamins 6 fold over recommended minimums (they used 50mg/kg for the base Niacin level, that's higher than most non-Broiler feeds in the US whose Niacin levels are disclosed).

50mg/kg is the recommended maintenance for generic adult "duck", btw, and is a good guess for what you will find in an "All Flock" or "Waterfowl" feed not seperately disclosed.

Anyhow, at 300 mg/kg niacin levels, and also 6x the base B2 (Riboflavin) and B9 (Folic Acid), they found... No effect.

So, there may well be some upper limit, but its well above what you will likely find in a feed bag. and being water soluable, they will get flushed from your birds very rapidly. The biggest ill effect you will likely see in a flock from too much B vitamin is that it renders any Amprolium they might be getting (medicated feed) ineffective, which is why many of us don't recommed throwing vitamin boosters at chicks at the same time they are getting medicated feeds.

Hope that helps a bit?

Yes thank you!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Yes thank you!

Of course, that's what BYC is for!