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Why is Vitamin E supplementation so important for birds?
Vitamins are organic substances that are essential for normal life processes and physiological functions such as development, growth, maintenance and reproduction. They are necessary to maintain health and performance and have to be supplied to the body. There are many vitamins that are required for optimal bird health, including vitamin E. This has several critical functions in birds.
Its key function is to protect the cells from oxidative damage - it promotes the protection of the cell membranes and the detoxification of pollutants occurring in the cell metabolism. Vitamin E is required for the regulation of heme biosynthesis and plays a specific role in the essential transport of amino acids. It is also involved in cell respiration and thus plays a very important role in energy metabolism. In addition, vitamin E promotes the formation of antibodies and has a positive effect on the immune status of the organism. Although vitamin E has a wide range of functions in the body, it is primarily crucial for animal fertility. It has been shown that vitamin E improves fertility (especially sperm quality in males and egg fertility in females) and increases embryo survival and viability of hatched young. Vitamin E deficiency leads to a reduction in fertility, sex drive and the ability to hatch. Finally, in the case of vitamin E deficiency, the function of the muscles and the heart is particularly impaired.
Effect of vitamin E on male fertility functions in birds.
Male fertility is primarily related to semen and sperm quality, including semen volume, sperm concentration, viability, motility and ability to fertilize. Several studies have demonstrated the association of vitamin E deficiency with impaired male reproductive function in birds. Vitamin E deficiency or its long-term absence causes abnormal spermatogenesis and impairs sperm quality and sperm motility. Supplementing with vitamin E, on the other hand, can significantly improve sperm quality by preventing the breakdown of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which can cause oxidative damage.
Effect of vitamin E on female fertility functions in birds
The most important factors that determine a healthy offspring are egg quality, egg weight, components of the yolk and desalbumin as well as fertility and hatchability of eggs. Female fertility functions, like males, are critical to the successful production of healthy offspring.
The nutrients needed for embryonic development are mainly obtained from the yolk and albumin stored in the eggs. An egg contains significant amounts of carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, vitamins and trace elements. These can be increased or decreased by changing the composition of the feed. When birds are fed a diet high in vitamin E, egg quality improves significantly.
Many studies show that vitamin E supplementation increases egg weight and significantly protects egg fertility and hatchability. In addition, the studies showed that the antioxidant effects of vitamin E can reduce adverse effects of various toxic compounds in feed.
Eventually, it turned out that supplementing the feed with vitamin E is necessary to maintain female fertility. As a result, the birds that received additional vitamin E showed higher fertility.
To improve the fertility of the birds and to support general health during breeding, NEKTON has developed a special supplementary feed, NEKTON-Breed-Star. NEKTON Breed-Star supplements the low content of vitamin E in the feed and covers the animals' needs with this nutrient, which is so important for the body. In addition, it contains all the vital vitamins, amino acids, minerals and trace elements that support the metabolic processes in the bird's organism and thereby strengthen the bird's defenses and improve performance.