Thiamin deficiency in chicken

1. Thiamin deficiency in chicken Cause, symptoms and treatment

2. A problem of new emerging small-scale backyard poultry production in Ethiopia • Mr. AmanuelKoyachew getting community service in our office

3. Introduction • This problem first presented in our community service program on January 18/2013 by our customers Mr. AmanuelKoyachew , who is living in Gondar “kebele” (village) 18. • He had consulted veterinarian when he saw symptoms of abnormality and followed the loss of five chick per a day due to death.

4. Vegetarians advised him to consult animal nutritionist and he has came to our community service office with the following history and symptoms. • Mr. Amanuel has started his poultry production with Lohman white day old chick from Andasa government owned chicken multiplication center.

5. He brought Lehman white chicken together with feed enough to feed for two weeks. The feed had fish meal as one of the ingredients. • When he saw polyneuritis symptom on his chicks he had thought that the symptom was due to blocking of the esophagus of chick with larger particles of fishmeal found in feed and he had started to screen larger particles with sieve.

6. However no change has come. • Then he goes to veterinarians and they send hem to our office.

7. Symptoms of thiamin deficiency • Early signs are lethargy (tiredness or a state of physical slowness and mental dullness resulting from tiredness) and head tremors. • Chicks fed very low thiamin (0.4 mg per kg; 0.18 mg per lb) survived for only seven to 10 days.

8. Some chicks developed nervous disorders, apathy (lack of interest in anything), and tremor (shiver violently) as early as the third or fourth day of life.

9. These signs increased in severity up to ataxia . • Ataxia is a lack of muscle control or the inability to coordinate the movements of muscles i.e. inability to stand, • high-grade opisthotonos or twisting of the neck. • Chicks that showed these high-grade nervous disorders died within a few hours

10. In mature chickens, polyneuritis (Illus. 1) is observed approximately three weeks after they are fed a thiamin-deficient diet (Scott et al., 1982). • As the deficiency progresses, paralysis of the muscles occurs, beginning with the flexors (muscle bending ) of the toes and progressing upward, affecting the extensor muscles of the legs, wings and neck.

11. The chicken sits on its flexed legs and draws back the head in a stargazing (opisthotonos) position. • Retraction of the head is due to paralysis of the anterior neck muscles. • At this stage, the chicken soon loses the ability to stand or sit upright and falls to the floor, where it may lie with the head still retracted.

13. Acutely deficient pigeons developed vomiting, emaciation, leg weakness, and opisthotonos, the last of which appears between seven and 12 days after beginning the thiamin-free diet (Swank, 1940).

14. For chickens with thiamin deficiency, body temperature drops to as low as 36oC and respiratory rate progressively decreases (Scott et al., 1982). • There is adrenal gland hypertrophy (enlargement) that apparently results in tissue edema, particularly in the skin.

15. Atrophy (shrinking) of genital organs also occurs in chickens affected with chronic thiamin deficiency, being more pronounced in the testes than in the ovaries. • This is an indicative that thiamin deficiency affect egg production.

16. The hen transfers thiamin to the egg in proportion to dietary content (Polin et al., 1963; NRC, 1994). • Inadequate thiamin to the breeder flock will result in high mortality of embryos prior to hatching and chicks that hatch express a polyneuritis (Polin et al., 1962; Charles et al., 1972).

17. What is thiamin? • Thiamin is (Vitamin B1) is one of the most essential vitamins required by the body. • It is a water soluble vitamin and plays a key role in carrying out the metabolic activities of the system. • Vitamin B1 helps convert carbohydrates into energy.

18. It improves the nervous system, and prevents numbness (unable to feel) and tingling (vibrating) in body parts. • A deficiency of vitamin B1 can lead to loss of appetite and weight, constipation, fatigue, and depression.

19. Where can we get thiamin • There are several food sources of vitamin B1 including:  • Brewer’s yeast: Brewer’s yeast, which contains 4.3 mg of thiamin per ounce or 28 gram, is the best source of vitamin B1. • Whole grains, cereals, and beans: Wheat germ, brown rice, rice bran, legumes, peanuts, sunflower seeds, and dried soybeans are all rich sources of vitamin B1.

20. Of these, sunflower seeds are the best as they contain 3.3 mg of thiamine per 140 gm of seeds. • Meat: Most meat products like poultry, pork, liver, kidney, and fish are excellent sources of vitamin B1. • Egg yolk is also a vitamin B1 food source.

21. Green leafy vegetables: peas, cabbage, avocados, plums are some of the vegetables and fruits that are rich sources of vitamin B1. • Most vegetables and fruits listed above can provide maximum vitamin B1 benefits if eaten raw or in the form of salads. • Excessive cooking of these vegetables results in a loss of at least 25 percent of the vitamin B1 content. • Although vitamin B1 is available in the form of supplements like spirulina, these must be taken only under the guidance of a physician.

22. For normal growth, chicks should get 2mg thiamin per day or • Their ration should contain 6mg /kg of ration • provision of vegetables will solve the problem