August 20, 2008

UK's Labtec has launched what it claimed is the UK's first liquid supplement to boost vitamin D3 and calcium levels in layers and broilers.

The animal health and nutrition specialist said its Dcal-Xtra Plus, designed to be added to the drinking water of breeders, broilers and layers, is intended for use during periods of malabsorption and when feed supplies of vitamin D3 may be inadequate to meet demand.

Labtec managing director David Tavernor said Vitamin D3 and calcium are both vital nutrients in poultry systems, being intimately involved in the development of bone and shell quality.

Shortage of either nutrient can result in reduced leg strength in turkeys, broilers and pheasants and shell weakness in laying birds, he added.

Dcal-Xtra Plus is the first product to combine calcium with vitamin D3 to maximise the benefit to bone and shell quality, he said.

Standard vitamin D3 has to be synthesised by the liver before it is available to the bird. But the 25-OH-vitamin D3 in Dcal-Xtra Plus is a metabolite of D3 that avoids the need for synthesis, thereby making it more readily available to the bird. 

Labtec Ltd is a UK, Cheshire-based private company specialising in animal health and nutrition products.