STOP using Gatorade for your birds.

[casportpony]

A vet once told me that electrolytes are fine, but it's best to offer plain water too.

 

[lazy gardener]

If you should have to make this again for a heat stressed bird can you make 2 batches..one with flavor and one without to see which the bird will choose if given a choice?

I could, but I wouldn't. I really don't care. It was a hot day, so I wanted some for myself also!!!

A vet once told me that electrolytes are fine, but it's best to offer plain water too.

Agreed. I do not give lytes without giving plain water.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

This may be a good read for those that want to learn more about electrolytes, the minerals therein and to determine if they are necessary.
https://www.emedicinehealth.com/electrolytes/article_em.htm#electrolyte_bicarbonate_hco3

Stuff around the house...where in the house do I find potassium chloride???
...

So called "Lite Salt" is about half potassium chloride and half sodium chloride. Or you can get it at drug stores in oral capsules for potassium supplements.

B/C vitamins do not have a long shelf life, and I'd rather not spend the bucks on a "makes a million gallons" size pack of vitamin mix when I'll most likely not use more than a few gallons per season.

I liked the product but I agree that it is more appropriate for people with a large herd of cattle than those with a few chickens. The challenge for the latter is figuring out the dosage for a gallon of water rather than a 500 gallon tank.
That's why I've changed to using Nutri-Drench as a vitamin supplements.

A vet once told me that electrolytes are fine, but it's best to offer plain water too.

X2 I can't remember if I've ever given electrolytes.

I could, but I wouldn't. I really don't care. It was a hot day, so I wanted some for myself also!!!

Agreed. I do not give lytes without giving plain water.

Seriously? You have hot days in Maine? What happened, did it get over 60?

Hot and cold are relative and depend on one's perspective.

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

See...my concerns with making your own stuff at home is there is no way to know if you are getting the required percentages...or missing some stuff. I think I'll stick with the sav-A-chick electrolyte packets. It's $0.69 a packet (per gallon)...and it has vitamins to boot!

 

[Birdsong 82]

Yup. The feed store I go to has individual sav a chick packs 3 for a dollar. The salt content in Gatorade is what deters me. I’ve only ever given it once but doesn’t generally get over 100 here. I had my goat vet tell me NEVER give a goat Gatorade because of the salt and sugar and the goat are 140 lbs so I would feel insane to give it to 6-7 lb hens. Good topic to address. Nutri-drench is a great product

 

[2 many chickens]

I have never heard of this. I would never share my gatorade anyway. that's mine.. no share.

 

[AnimalGeek23]

Wait... people give their chickens GATORADE?! Wow.

 

[lazy gardener]

See...my concerns with making your own stuff at home is there is no way to know if you are getting the required percentages...or missing some stuff. I think I'll stick with the sav-A-chick electrolyte packets. It's $0.69 a packet (per gallon)...and it has vitamins to boot!

I believe it's only sold in the multi packs here, and it's about $1/pk. I'm tight fisted. ANYTHING I can make or do at home instead of shelling out money for, that's what I do. As for getting the right percentages, it's pretty simple. The recipes almost all have the same concentration of sugar, baking soda and salt. Adding potassium via salt sub in an option, but not necessary. As CC says, never offer lytes w/o giving plain water also. Think about it this way: Your body picks and chooses what it absorbs and discards. If you eat a lot of potato chips, your body is going to discard that extra sodium. But, if you are working in the hot sun, and drinking a lot of water, your sodium and potassium levels are going to be decreased b/c you are sweating out a lot of liquid to cool off. Ever notice how sweat is salty? You are loosing electrolytes through your skin. So, there are times when it must be replaced. Chickens don't sweat. So they drink a lot and poop out very loose stool in hot weather. This will also eliminate lytes from their system. Lytes are required to keep muscles and other important stuff working. I notice that when I am working on a warm day, I start to get dizzy: dehydration and lyte imbalance signs.

The thing that gets me is the frequent threads by folks who buy Sav-A-Chick, and give it to them as their only liquid source until they have used up the entire multi packet. Yes, almost without fail, I run across such a thread on BYC EVERY YEAR!

This may be a good read for those that want to learn more about electrolytes, the minerals therein and to determine if they are necessary.
https://www.emedicinehealth.com/electrolytes/article_em.htm#electrolyte_bicarbonate_hco3


So called "Lite Salt" is about half potassium chloride and half sodium chloride. Or you can get it at drug stores in oral capsules for potassium supplements.

I liked the product but I agree that it is more appropriate for people with a large herd of cattle than those with a few chickens. The challenge for the latter is figuring out the dosage for a gallon of water rather than a 500 gallon tank.
That's why I've changed to using Nutri-Drench as a vitamin supplements.

X2 I can't remember if I've ever given electrolytes.

Seriously? You have hot days in Maine? What happened, did it get over 60?

Hot and cold are relative and depend on one's perspective.

Good post. I stopped buying Sav-A-Chick b/c, while I think it's a good idea to give vitamins to chicks, I don't think it's a good idea to repeatedly give electrolytes to chicks. PND is a fantastic product. I'm sure there are other vitamin supplements out there that do the job also, but, I am sold on PND.

Yes, we have hot days here! I wilt like a pansy when ever it gets above 72*! Time for some lytes! Down to 30* last night, up to 62 today. I'm gonna wear my seedlings out transporting them in and out to keep them alive till they make it into the ground!

 

[CSAchook]

I stopped buying Sav-A-Chick b/c, while I think it's a good idea to give vitamins to chicks, I don't think it's a good idea to repeatedly give electrolytes to chicks. PND is a fantastic product. I'm sure there are other vitamin supplements out there that do the job also, but, I am sold on PND.

Apologies to Kiki if this is too off topic, but does anyone else have a trouble getting their hens to drink drench water? Mine seem to hate the stuff. This created a bit of a dilemma when my chicks hatched 2 weeks ago. I wanted to provide drench water for them but worried (based on past experience) that the broody would not drink it. So I settled for one dish of plain water, and one dish of sav-a-chick water. Any one else have this problem? Am I brewing my drench too strong or something? I agree that PND is a superior product but my hens do not

 

[lazy gardener]

You may be. I make mine about the color of WEAK tea. I think I use 1 dropper full per qt.