Homemade electrolyte?

[BigBlueHen53]

Thank you, especially about the (not) sweating issue!! I keep reading electrolytes, electrolytes, and wondering, but why?!

I realize this is an older thread (July of this year) but I'm still puzzled. Do they do, or do they don't, need electrolytes? And if so, under what circumstances? How will I know? And finally, HOW exactly do we provide them?

One says, give them sugar and salt. Another says, don't do that! Another says give them molasses while another says no. Someone says electrolytes consist of:

Sodium
Potassium
Magnesium
Calcium...

Okay, so where do I get these, and in what form, and how much do I add to their water and for how long???

My head is spinning! Can I just get some clear, simple answers here, please? Pretend I am a fifth-grader. Talk down to me, I don't mind. Just help me help my chickens! Thanks!

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I never used electrolytes their first summer. I just provided a combination of dense shade and light shade, plus a Rubbermaid pan for wading, plenty of drinking water, and occasional snacks like cold watermelon. They were fine, even when they were hot.

Speaking from a human healthcare perspective, which was my profession before retirement (I’m now getting my BSc in ecology), electrolyte therapy is for sudden acute illnesses that are accompanied by severe water loss; mainly diarrhea. People who work a lot outdoors in the heat, *and sweat, losing electrolytes, which chickens do not do*, drink electrolyte supplements like Gatorade in case they are sweating out excessive amounts of their natural lytes. Chickens don’t sweat, so how would they lose enough electrolytes through their stools to need replacements, unless they were actually ill with diarrhea?

And my ecology classes lead me to add: how do wild/ feral chickens survive through the summer without electrolyte supplementation? The critical factor AFAIK is the ability to find a cool spot. Body temperature, not serum electrolytes.

After reading a lot of back and forth on this topic, just my best guess: they probably don’t hurt, they might help in some cases, and - very important! - you must supply “just water” separately from electrolyte supplements. Allow the chickens to decide which they need to drink.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I never used electrolytes their first summer. I just provided a combination of dense shade and light shade, plus a Rubbermaid pan for wading, plenty of drinking water, and occasional snacks like cold watermelon. They were fine, even when they were hot.

Speaking from a human healthcare perspective, which was my profession before retirement (I’m now getting my BSc in ecology), electrolyte therapy is for sudden acute illnesses that are accompanied by severe water loss; mainly diarrhea. People who work a lot outdoors in the heat, *and sweat, losing electrolytes, which chickens do not do*, drink electrolyte supplements like Gatorade in case they are sweating out excessive amounts of their natural lytes. Chickens don’t sweat, so how would they lose enough electrolytes through their stools to need replacements, unless they were actually ill with diarrhea?

And my ecology classes lead me to add: how do wild/ feral chickens survive through the summer without electrolyte supplementation? The critical factor AFAIK is the ability to find a cool spot. Body temperature, not serum electrolytes.

After reading a lot of back and forth on this topic, just my best guess: they probably don’t hurt, they might help in some cases, and - very important! - you must supply “just water” separately from electrolyte supplements. Allow the chickens to decide which they need to drink.

Thank you.

 

[SourRoses]

Can I just get some clear, simple answers here, please?

Look at the label on your feed bag.
Nutrition scientists studied what chickens need from their feed.

Sodium
Potassium
Magnesium
Calcium...

On the back of my bag I see values for Calcium and Sodium. Those are required to be listed.
Then if you look up the ingredients, such as corn, you'll find it's considered a good source of magnesium and depending on the variety grown, potassium as well. So are some other common grains like wheat.
In short, the evidence leads me to believe that necessary minerals are in sufficient supply within chicken feed.
They don't degrade either. Minerals are stable in feed, unlike essential vitamins such as the B vitamins that can easily deteriorate from heat in shipping and storage, as well as simple age.
Thus, it's much more likely that chicken diets would become deficient in B vitamins.
But we don't see many vitamin solutions with B's in flashy packaging claiming to rescue our birds like there is for electrolytes.

If a chicken is suffering stress, sugar is more likely to help them than salt. Some electrolyte solutions include subtle sources of sugar, so my suspicion is that is responsible for any anecdotal quick improvements in stressed birds.

But, if people feel the need, a little electrolyte excess probably won't hurt. A prolonged salt excess will though. So short term - fine. Long term - bad idea. My opinion.

 

[Debbie292d]

Most of us say and give just a couple of hours' worth of our homemade or store-bought electrolytes. It's just to give them a little boost if they just got off a 12-hour shipping truck, are suffering from shock from being attacked, under heat stress, etc. It's not meant in any form to be given for days.