What is your favorite electrolyte supplement?

[RoyalChick]

True, just answering what @RoyalChick asked. We never give electrolytes routinely, but they're getting probiotics routinely through the every other day of fermented grains.

Out of 8 years of raising silkies, I've been fermenting for about 2 years. Any difference? Nope. But I'll keep doing it as I know it's healthy for them. It's a labor of love I guess.

Thanks. I was confused by the original question because it sounded like routine giving of electrolytes which I had never heard of doing.

 

[NatJ]

Thanks. I was confused by the original question because it sounded like routine giving of electrolytes which I had never heard of doing.

That is what it sounds like to me too. I have heard of it before, just like I have heard of people routinely giving vitamin supplements, or probiotics, or adding herbs or vinegar to feed and water, or many other things.

None of those seem harmful if they are provided as an option, with normal feed and plain water always available to the chickens as well, but I haven't seen much evidence of actual benefit either, and it is not something I have personally chosen to try with normal healthy chickens of any age.

I do know that ducks can eat chicken feed if they receive regular supplements of niacin but will show symptoms of deficiency without the supplements, so I try to keep an open mind about whether specific chickens or specific feeds might also need routine supplements of some sort-- but I have not personally seen that happen.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Depending on the situation, I’ve used hydro-hen, sav-a-chick packets, durvet packets, rooster booster vitamins & electrolytes with lactobacillus, nutri-drench…

What benefits have you seen? It sounds like you have made a study of this and seen specific benefits.

I don't give anything for routine maintenance. When I have a chick or hen that needs something I use hummingbird liquid to give it a burst of energy. Sometimes that makes a noticeable difference.

 

[Huntmaster]

I use this for electrolyte/vitamin supplement, I like it as it has less salts than most. And as @Debbie292d stated Nutri-drench for hatchlings and ill/off feed birds.View attachment 3831824

Should have read better, I don't use as an everyday or weekly routine. Only used for stress as needed, for whatever the stress may be extreme heat, extreme cold. molting, illness.

 

[Kaw-Liga]

Genuine question. Why would healthy adult chickens need any electrolytes? Surely they get all the minerals and salts they need from their food.

Good question. I live in southeastern Louisiana and the temps are now 85-95F, depending. Without electrolyte supplementation, mine will pant and look a little pale by the end of the free-ranging afternoon. All eat and poop just fine, coop is clean, water changed daily, all flock and oyster shell, hardly ever give treats anymore, sometimes kale. Thank you for your response.

 

[SourRoses]

Just regular feed. It's already balanced in regards to minerals and salt content. Chickens don't sweat, so it never made sense to me why they would need more salt when it's hot. That's with 13 years keeping chickens in Florida.
They suffer when it's hot, no joke, but deep shade is the number one thing you can provide for them, whatever you have to do to make it available.


I do provide probiotics during certain times - for new chicks, after stress or illness. That's because I've seen it work well for horses, and there are a lot of studies.
But the thing with probiotics is that it's hard to keep them viable. They get shipped through hot conditions and often stored for too long. So I don't use those little packets which are very likely to be dead.
I use Probios brand (good for all animals), because they do rigorous testing to ensure viability and their carrier medium is better for maintaining the culture in storage. Then I store it somewhere cool, dry, and dark in my house and be careful to open and close the jar quickly to avoid introducing moisture from humidity.

 

[Debbie292d]

Good question. I live in southeastern Louisiana and the temps are now 85-95F, depending. Without electrolyte supplementation, mine will pant and look a little pale by the end of the free-ranging afternoon. All eat and poop just fine, coop is clean, water changed daily, all flock and oyster shell, hardly ever give treats anymore, sometimes kale. Thank you for your response.

We raise kale solely for the chickens. It's so good for them and they sure love it!

And yes, when we get our couple of sweltering weeks in the summer when it hits 90s/100F, I put Hydro-Hen water in ice cream pails with some ice cubes in a couple shady areas of our yard. Our dogs, cats and chickens all enjoy that.