Chicken Heat Stress, Dehydration and Homemade Electrolyte Solution

Reader Contribution By Kathy Shea Mormino
| 7/8/2012 10:22:42 PM

Tags: Chicken Electrolytes, Poultry Electrolytes, Chicken Vitamins and Electrolytes, Poultry Vitamins and Electrolytes, Heat Stress, Chicken Heat Stress, Chickens and Heat, Electrolyte Solution, Electrolyte Recipe, Homemade Electrolytes, Homemade Chicken Electrolyte Solution, The Chicken Chick, Kathy Shea Mormino, Egg Carton Labels by ADozenGirlz, Kathy Shea Mormino,

 Chicken Electrolytes Solution 5 
Heat stress is a very serious situation for chickens and can quickly go from serious to deadly. With the extremely hot temperatures around the country this summer, we have been discussing ways to help our chickens beat the heat quite a bit on my Facebook page recently. Even when employing all of the tricks and tips possible to keep our chickens safe in the heat, according to Gail Damerow in The Chicken Encyclopedia, "[d]uring long periods of extreme heat, hens stop laying and all chickens suffer stress. When temperatures reach 104° F (40° C) or above, chickens can't lose excess heat fast enough to maintain a proper body temperature and may die."

Chicken Electrolyte Solution 2
Among the many ways to combat heat stress that I covered in my blog post Beat the Heat, is to supplement their drinking water with
electrolytes. I recommend keeping vitamins and electrolytes handy in a well stocked chicken first aid kit, but in an emergency, it is possible to make electrolytes with ingredients commonly found in most homes.

I received a question today from someone whose chicken was dehydrated and clearly in danger due to the heat, but had no electrolytes handy and promptly referred to her the recipe in The Chicken Encyclopedia. 

  Chicken Electrolytes Solution Facebook Fan Question 

Heat stress and dehydration deplete the body of electrolytes required for a chicken's normal body functioning, therefore replenishing them is a priority when chickens suffer from heat stress and/or dehydration. The following instructions for making a homemade electrolyte solution can be found in The Chicken Encyclopedia, a book I highly recommend every chicken-keeper include in their
library. 



HOMEMADE ELECTROLYTE SOLUTION 

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wildrose41
8/31/2013 12:02:02 AM

Salt substitute contains potassium and the body is unable to rid itself of the excess potassium if there are kidney problems. Seems to me with the chickens being dehydrated due to the heat the salt substitute would be a very bad idea.


wildrose41
8/31/2013 12:01:24 AM

Salt substitute contains potassium and the body is unable to rid itself of the excess potassium if there are kidney problems. Seems to me with the chickens being dehydrated due to the heat the salt substitute would be a very bad idea.


Jolene Hawkins
7/25/2012 2:19:55 PM

How smart is this


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