Homemade Electrolytes for Chickens
Inside: Keeping your chickens healthy is important, and electrolytes can help! Here are the benefits of electrolytes for chickens and how to administer them.
When you have chickens you can go from everything is fine and dandy and to running around to trying to save a chick or chicken's life for any reason. Things change quickly with chickens. From a chick that isn't thriving to a chicken that isn't drinking enough in extreme heat. Homemade electrolytes for chickens is your answer.
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Homemade Electrolytes for Chickens
Electrolytes are very important to proper body function in animals and people. Electrolytes replace sodium, potassium, and minerals in the body lost due to stress, overheating or dehydration.
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They also rehydrate and rebalance the body's pH levels (acidity) which are extremely important for proper body functions.
Much like an athlete will drink Gatorade after a race or a baby will be given Pedialyte for vomiting or diarrhea, sometimes chickens need a little boost and some rebalancing.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 teaspoons molasses OR 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
Mix all the ingredients together and stir until completely combined.
Give to sick, stressed, or ailing chicks with a medicine dropper. If they aren’t opening their beaks, you can drip it on the outside of their beaks and sometimes they will open then.
I give my sick chicks a few drops every 10 minutes or so until they start perking up. Just play it by ear. I also give Poly-Vi-Sol to chicks that need a boost. This isn't given every 10 minutes though, just a couple drops a couple of times a day.
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If I had a larger chicken that was dehydrated or overheated, I would offer this solution as their drinking water for a short time. However, I have no plans to give this to my healthy chickens, as it’s just not needed unless there is an issue.
Homemade Electrolytes for Chickens
From a chick that isn't thriving to a chicken that isn't drinking enough in extreme heat. Homemade electrolytes for chickens is your answer.
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 teaspoons molasses OR 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients together.
- Stir until completely combined.
What Electrolytes Do
Electrolytes play a crucial role in maintaining optimal body function in both animals and humans. They replenish essential minerals like sodium and potassium lost during periods of stress, overheating, or dehydration.
Electrolytes aid in rehydration and restoring the body's pH levels, which are vital for overall bodily functions.
Similar to athletes replenishing with Gatorade post-race or babies receiving Pedialyte for vomiting or diarrhea, there are instances when chickens also require a boost and rebalancing of electrolytes.
When to Use Electrolytes for Chickens
Electrolytes can be beneficial to chicks and chickens in these situations:
- in cases of heat exhaustion
- for chicks suffering from shipping/travel stress or weak chicks
- to aid with stress from a predator attack
- when treating an injury
- in cases of diarrhea
- birds suffering from another health issue
- to aid a sick bird without much appetite
Our recipe is pretty standard and a good one to bookmark for an emergency and easy to make in an emergency.
If you are looking for a quicker method, you can check out this post on sugar water for sick chickens. It's sugar and water. Great if you are missing something from this electrolyte recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can chickens have Gatorade? Plain Pedialyte or Gatorade is an option for your chickens, or you can mix up your homemade electrolytes using things you already have in your kitchen.
Can chickens drink warm water? Yes, chickens can drink warm water, but you do not want to give them water hotter than their body temperature. The adult chicken body temperature is between 105°F and 107°F (40.6° and 41.7°C)
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