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Nutrient Feed Additives in Poultry: Types, Vitamins, Minerals & Amino Acids
Nutrient feed additives play an important role in poultry nutrition by supplying essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other nutrients required for normal growth, production, and overall health. They are particularly useful when a formulated diet does not provide these nutrients at adequate levels. Common nutrient feed additives include vitamin and mineral supplements, essential amino acids, protein hydrolysates, liver extracts, live yeast, yeast extracts, and fermentation by-products.
Nutrient feed additives contain certain essential nutrients necessary for the normal growth and production of birds. Deficiencies of these nutrients in poultry can lead to various anatomical and physiological abnormalities, deficiency diseases, poor growth rates, low egg production, and reduced resistance to disease. They need to be added when the formulated feed is not expected to contain these nutrients at the required levels.
Nutrient feed additives can be further classified into the following categories:
Vitamin Supplements
- Fat-soluble vitamins, supplying vitamins such as A, D3, E, and K.
- Water-soluble vitamins, such as the B-complex group of vitamins and vitamin C.
Mineral Supplements
- Macrominerals such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, and sulfur.
- Microminerals such as manganese, zinc, iron, copper, and iodine.
- Ultratrace elements such as selenium, cobalt, molybdenum, and chromium.
Essential Amino Acids
Additives supplying lysine, methionine, and tryptophan.
Protein Hydrolysates
Predigested proteins such as hydrolyzed feather meal, hair meal, etc., supplying essential amino acids and other nutrients.
Liver Extract
Supplies essential nutrients in the most readily available form.
Live Yeast and Yeast Extract
Supplies essential nutrients, digestive enzymes, and unidentified growth factors (U.G.F.).
Fermentation By-Products
Supply various essential nutrients and U.G.F.
