Can Hens Drink Whey?

[MedSchlFarmers]

I have liquid whey, a byproduct of making homemade yogurt. Can the chickens drink the liquid whey? If offered in a separate dish?

 

[Pendragonz]

No problem it's a good source of food for them. I've heard that they really like it, though I've not had any experience with it personally.

 

[MedSchlFarmers]

Thanks! Ill give it a whirl today.

 

[Lee-Anna]

I'm curious how they liked it. I also make our own and sometimes have whey coming out my ears there is so much.

 

[MedSchlFarmers]

Well, I put it out in a small dish, they all took drinks while I stood there. I left for about an hour or so and came back and it was gone! I am not sure if they spilled it or drank it all? Their run is dirt right now, so I am pretty sure I would have been able to tell if they spilled it. Next time I will watch them with it a little longer.

 

[caj1985]

I'm not sure about chickens, but I know that my pigs love the stuff. An easy way to keep the chickens from wasting it would be the same way I do with the pigs. Dampen a bowl of their feed with the whey to whatever consistency you like that will stay in the bowl. I'm pretty sure it will be gone in a heartbeat. It would probably be excellent for chicks, similar to fermented feed.

 

[MedSchlFarmers]

Wonderful! Thank you, I will do that.

 

[Beth the chicken mama]

Yes, they love the whey I strain out from my homemade yogurt.

 

[lazy gardener]

I often add extra whey to my fermented feed. If I have milk that does not pass the sniff test, I set it out to clabber, and then give it to the flock. They love it.