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7830693 
Book/Book Chapter 
Vitamins, Minerals and Micronutrients 
Kidd, MT 
2009 
CABI Publishing 
Poultry Science Symposium Series 
29 
361-373 
English 
WOS:000294471000019 
Breeder hen micronutrient levels must be provided in adequate amounts, as a deficiency in virtually any mineral or vitamin can impair embryonic development and hatchability. As breeder hen experiments are time-consuming and costly, most micronutrients are formulated into premixes with wide safety margins. However, are nutrient levels for hen productivity also adequate for chick health and growth (i.e. chick quality)? Chick quality is an accepted viability index, but its assessment entails numerous measurements that often vary. Increasing some vitamin, mineral and micronutrient levels in hen diets will increase progeny tissue levels of these nutrients, but do these increased maternal transfer levels result in realized benefits? This depends on the nutrient, its source, level and the degree of embryo and chick stress (e.g. physiological, immunological and environmental stressors). Investigations on hen diet fat-soluble vitamins and trace elements have shown some consistent beneficial effects on progeny performance. Both the fat-soluble vitamins D and E result in carry-over effects that improve chick health, growth and bone quality. It may be that the chick's preferential absorption of glucose over fatty acids limits early fat-soluble vitamin absorption, resulting in the hen's nutrition as the primary source of these vitamins for the young chick. The trace elements zinc, manganese and selenium have a myriad of metabolic needs and have been shown to improve chick quality, especially that of chick health. © CAB International 2009.