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Vitamin K
 Following on from our look at Vitamin E last month, this time it is the turn of Vitamin K, its role in poultry health and problems which can occur if birds are deficient. .
Vitamin K has an essential role to play in blood coagulation and so deficiencies result in poor blood clotting. Chicks which are deficient in Vitamin K can suffer from massive haemorrhages almost anywhere on the body, but particularly on the breast, wings and legs. Anaemia and a reduction in bone marrow can result from this blood loss and in extreme cases bleeding to death can occur from what appeared to be only a minor injury. In adult birds a Vitamin K deficiency will mean blood takes longer to clot and subsequently injuries take longer to heal, death can again occur due to excessive blood loss. In breeding stock a Vitamin K deficiency can reduce hatchability of eggs, with most mortality occurring after day 18 of incubation.
The Vitamin K requirement of poultry is small and deficiencies are unlikely to occur in birds that are fed a well-balanced poultry feed all year round. Good sources of Vitamin K are plant material, such as grass and Lucerne, which can be either fresh or dried. Poultry can manufacture vitamin K but it cannot be absorbed into the blood stream as it is made too far down the gut.
Vitamin K is easily destroyed by sunlight and the use of certain drugs, such as antibacterial treatments can counteract the action of the vitamin resulting in deficiency symptoms.
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