The Best Vitamins for Chickens

If your chickens can roam freely and safely and there are greens and bugs for them to scratch up and eat year-round, they probably don’t need vitamin supplements. However, under normal conditions where there is some confinement for safety or due to changing weather, or for chickens who eat commercial feed, adding vitamins to their food is essential.

Without enough vitamins and minerals, your laying hens may produce small or thin-shelled eggs. They might peck at eggs you don’t collect, trying to regain some of the nutrients. Other signs your chickens need a vitamin supplement include poor feathering or slow growth.

Chicken feed has some crucial vitamins and minerals, but chickens require 38 unique nutrients each day to grow strong, lay eggs, and remain vibrant. Vitamins are particularly essential for laying hens who need a boost to maintain optimum health.

Let’s look at the best vitamins available on the market, so you have what you need to keep your chickens in top shape.

A-Z Animals Top Picks for the Best Vitamins for Chickens

#1 Best Overall: Fresh Eggs Daily Coop Kelp Organic Chicken & Duck Supplement

In our review, the overall best vitamins for chickens are the Fresh Eggs Daily Coop Kelp Organic Chicken and Duck Supplement for its quality mix of vitamins and minerals and the addition of kelp sourced from the icy waters of Norway. 

This organic daily feed supplement is designed to work with other supplements. It supports your chickens’ immune health and egg quality, including bright orange yolks. You can feed it to your flock through all life stages.

In addition to vitamins and minerals that help improve feather appearance and help with weight gain, the Coop Kelp formula includes prebiotics that feeds the helpful bacteria in your chickens’ gut to aid a healthy digestive system.

The only drawback to this product is that it is an expensive option compared to some of the other products in this review.

Pros and Cons of the Fresh Eggs Daily Coop Kelp Organic Chicken & Duck Supplement

Overall Best

Fresh Eggs Daily Coop Kelp Organic Chicken Supplement

• This organic mix of vitamins and minerals contains Norweigan kelp
• Supports chickens' immune health and egg quality
• Supports bright orange yolks
• Suitable for all stages of life
• Improves feather appearance and assists with weight gain

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2. Best Value: Rooster Booster Poultry Booster Pellet Vitamin Supplement

In our opinion, the best value option is the Rooster Booster Poultry Booster Pellet Vitamin Supplement.

This supplement gives your chickens all the vitamins, minerals, and amino acids necessary for healthy, happy fowl. It’s suitable for fowl of all ages but is most important for laying hens.

One benefit of the this formula is it includes probiotics. Probiotics are beneficial microorganisms that support a healthy digestive tract. A good balance of beneficial bacteria in your flow keeps their immune systems strong and optimizes feed efficiency. The formula also includes calcium to support strong bones and eggshells. Plus, the pellets are easy to mix with food. However, sometimes birds can simply peck around the pellets instead of eating them.

Pros and Cons of the Rooster Booster Poultry Booster Pellet Vitamin Supplement

Best Value

Rooster Booster Poultry Booster Pellet Vitamin Supplement

• Provides all the vitamins, minerals, and amino acids your flock needs to be healthy
• Includes probiotics for healthy digestion
• Provides calcium for strong bones and eggshells
• Easy to mix with food
• Suitable for fowl of all ages

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3. Best for Stressed Birds: Rooster Booster Cell Liquid Vitamin Poultry Supplement

Sometimes chickens can become stressed during periods of illness or while they are molting. Therefore, we recommend the Rooster Booster Cell Liquid Vitamin Poultry Supplement.

This supplement delivers crucial nutrients like iron, vitamins, minerals, and essential amino acids in a bioavailable liquid form. It contains vitamins A, D, E, essential B-vitamins, and 400 mg of iron to aid your flock during stressful times like illness, molting, or weather extremes.

This liquid supplement is different from others on our list, which are daily supplements that support flocks of any age, especially laying hens. The purpose of this supplement is to support your chickens as they recover from health issues and stressful times, including a vitamin deficiency or wry neck.  Plus, it is suitable for birds of all ages.

The only drawback to this product is that it can sometimes make the water cloudy.

Pros and Cons of the Rooster Booster Cell Liquid Vitamin Poultry Supplement

Best for Stressed Birds

Rooster Booster Cell Liquid Vitamin Poultry Supplement

• Features critical nutrients like iron, vitamins, minerals, and essential acids,
• Bioavailable formula
• Contains vitamins A, D, E, essential B-vitamins, and iron, which support fowl during stressful times like illness, molting, and extreme weather
• Appropriate for chickens of all ages
• Not intended for daily use during non-stressful times

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4. Most Natural: Vetrx Poultry Aid

The most natural product is the Vetrx Poultry Aid which uses only natural ingredients.

This 100% natural formula contains a mix of healing herbs and is designed to simply be added to your bird’s drinking water. It is effective in the treatment and prevention of most respiratory problems in birds. It is also effective against problems such as scaly leg, croup, and favus eye worm. Plus, it is suitable for all standard and rare breed chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese.

Unfortunately, some customers have reported that the small bottle size means it is not cost effective for treating larger flocks.

Pros and Cons of the Vetrx Poultry Aid

Most Natural

Vetrx Poultry Aid

• Effective against most respiratory problems.
• Effective against problems such as scaly leg.
• Made from natural ingredients.
• Suitable for all standard and rare breed chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese.

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Choosing the Best: What to Look For

Unless they are free-range, chickens need supplemental vitamins and minerals to stay healthy. When choosing the best vitamins for your chickens, there are many to choose from, and it can get overwhelming.  

You want supplements that are:

• Easy for your chickens to absorb
• Deliver the vitamins and minerals that match your flock’s needs

There are some products that specifically help your chickens recover from or endure stressful conditions like winter and others that are suitable to serve all year long.

Others have additional ingredients like probiotics or omegas. As long as the supplement is absorbable and contains the vitamins and minerals your flock needs, these additions will benefit your chickens.

The Different Types of Vitamins for Chickens: Pros and Cons Compared

While there are a variety of formulas available, there are three main types of vitamins for chickens. They are pellets, powder, and liquid.

Here are some pros and cons of each type.

Pellets

Pellets are easy to mix with the feed and distribute when you feed the flock. However, if they don’t like the taste, they’ll eat around the pellets and won’t benefit from the supplement. 

Powder

Powdered vitamins mix with your chicken’s water or can be coated onto their food. Some formulas don’t dissolve completely in water, which can be wasteful. Plus, if it gets damp it will go bad.

Liquid

Liquid supplements are bioavailable and easy to mix with your flock’s water. However, they can be expensive.

Essential Vitamins for Chickens

In general, vitamin C is the only vitamin your chickens don’t require from their diet (most animals can produce their own vitamin C — unlike people who have to ingest vitamin C and cannot produce it). Here are the vitamins that are essential to your flock and the benefits they provide.

• Vitamin A: Aids in egg production and your chicken’s growth
• Vitamin D: Strengthens eggshells and increases egg production
• Vitamin E: Aids in general growth and reproduction
• Vitamin K: Supports healthy blood and muscles
• Vitamin B1: Helps with metabolizing carbohydrate
• Vitamin B2: Supports growth

The most important time to supplement is during harsher winters, while laying, or if you use homemade feed without additional supplements.

Signs of Vitamin and Mineral Deficiency in Chickens

A single vitamin or mineral deficiency in your flock can have a cascading effect. It can interfere with your chickens’ ability to absorb the nutrients you give them. Deficiencies won’t show up immediately, but the following are visible signs:

• General poor feathering
• Poor or reduced laying
• Inhibited growth
• Lack of appetite
• Weight loss
• Wryneck
• Deformities
• Lethargy