Janssen Poultry Tonic

With lengthening day light many chickens, turkeys and geese should be approaching peak egg production. Although egg production is related to age - with 35-45 weeks being the optimum time for chickens - it is also related to day length. Around 12 hours of daylight or more is needed for hens to produce eggs at a production rate of 90% (or 9 eggs in 10 days), depending on the breed. Producing eggs at this rate can be stressful for birds, so it is important they receive good nutrition at this time.

Unfortunately, even if everything else is right, other factors can intervene: the presence of predators, extremes of temperatures, disease, change of feed / feeders or new additions to the flock or group can all be sources of stress and adversely affect egg production. This may not just mean a few less eggs at the breakfast table, as March and April are said to be the best months for incubation of eggs. If you have a rare breed and are trying to collect enough eggs to incubate, the consequences of low production can be catastrophic.

Janssen Poultry Tonic has long been used by commercial egg producers to minimize the effects of stress and get better results from layers. Some breeders also report better hatchability of eggs and improved chick survival when tonic is given to the parent birds. As with all large scale production, cost control is always a concern and the success of the one litre bottle, which retails at around £40, is testament to the excellent results achieved by using the product. Small scale users will find that one litre will treat around 500 litres of drinking water, so this is an investment that is well worth considering when birds may be stressed but good results are critical: prior to the show season, when eggs are being collected for incubation, during moulting or when birds are being re-grouped or new birds added are probably the most common times when a tonic could help.

As well as vitamins and minerals Janssen Poultry Tonic also contains nucleotides to support the immune system, and unlike some tonics, does not contain glucose which can leave a sticky residue in drinking bowls or block automatic watering systems.

Janssen Poultry Tonic is made by Janssen Animal Health (who also make of Flubenvet used for worming chickens) and is available from all good animal health merchants.

For further information contact Janssen Animal Health, 50-100 Holmers Farm Way, High Wycombe, Bucks, HP12 4EG Tel 01494 567555 Fax 01494 567556 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

www.janssenanimalhealth.com