What to give chickens when they are sick? If you have a sick chicken, it is important to be mindful of the food you provide. If you fail to provide appropriate foods, there is a high possibility for the chicken to experience serious complications.
The selection of food should be done carefully as well. That’s because sick chicken has lost their appetite for food. Therefore, you should come up with the most nutritious foods, which chickens can consume, regardless of their lost appetite. Here’s an overview of the foods that you can possibly think about giving to your chicken.
Scrambled Eggs
Eggs are not only tasty to hens, but they are also beneficial for them! Chickens require protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals, which are all found in eggs. In a small amount of olive oil or butter, scramble one egg. Allow cooling before mashing and serving. You may think about boiling the egg without mashing the yolk. This can provide your chicken with lots of vitamins and calories. Along with that, you can even support the illness of the chicken.
Mealworms
What to give chickens when they are sick, mealworms? Mealworms are high in iron and protein. On the other hand, you will not come across any challenges at the time of giving mealworms to chickens. That’s because they are one of the favorite foods of chicken. You will not come across any challenges when you are buying mealworms as well. You can always count on them as your chicken would not repel them.
Probiotics
What to give chickens when they are sick, probiotics? Probiotics can support the gut health of your chicken. As you already know, yogurt is one of the best foods with probiotics. You don’t have to worry about giving a small amount of yogurt to your chicken. However, make sure that you never overdo it. So, we always recommend feeding chicken feeds with probiotics.
You can use yogurt to restore healthy bacteria in the gut of your chicken. However, providing too much yogurt can lead your chicken to get diarrhea. Instead of yogurt, another good option available for you to consider would be fermenting the feed. If you continue to provide it, you can support your chicken to stay away from illnesses.
There are probiotic powders, which you can purchase for your chicken. It is even possible for you to get them and give them to your sick chicken.
Sunflower Seed Oil
What to give chickens when they are sick, sunflower seed oil? Sunflower seed oil is one of the richest sources of protein. Therefore, you may think about giving it to your chicken as well. One of the greatest things about sunflower seed oil is that it is rich in fiber and fat. Hence, most chickens would love to enjoy sunflower seed oil. While keeping this in mind, you just need to go ahead and provide sunflower seed oil to your chicken.
Pumpkin
What to give chickens when they are sick, pumpkin? Pumpkin is one of the most nutritious foods that you can possibly think about providing to your chicken. That’s because pumpkin is rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E. On top of that, you can expect to get numerous minerals with pumpkin as well. Along with the help of pumpkin, you can restore the overall digestive health of your chicken.
Hence, we can highly recommend it to you like food, which you can provide while your chicken is struggling with diarrhea. You can use pumpkin to firm it up. On the other hand, you may also think about giving a pumpkin while your chicken is struggling with constipation. That’s because you can assist to move things up with the support given by the pumpkin.
Water
Your sick chicken should be hydrated to recover from their illnesses fast. Therefore, you will need to think about providing lots of water to them as well. Make sure that you provide access to fresh and clean water with a chicken waterer. There should be enough clean water for the chicken to drink.
Instead of just providing water, you may think about adding a few things to it. These things will help you to promote quick recovery.
Electrolyte powder is among the most prominent things that you can add to the drinking water of your chicken. That’s because electrolytes are in a position to regulate pH levels in the blood and provide enough hydration. On the other hand, electrolytes are in a position to support both muscle and nerve function as well. You can assist your chicken to replenish lost electrolytes with the help of electrolyte powder. On the other hand, it will help you to get the chicken to recover much faster.
Another good thing that you can add to the water of your chicken is Pedialyte. In case if it is difficult for you to get electrolytes, you can switch to Pedialyte. You can add around half a cup of Pedialyte to half a cup of water. Make sure that you purchase the uncolored and unflavored version of Pedialyte as it is the most effective. You can easily purchase it from a local grocery store or from an online store.
Add garlic or apple cider vinegar to water
You may also think about adding garlic or apple cider vinegar to the water that your chicken drinks. One of the most effective methods to add garlic is to crush it. Garlic comes along with natural antibiotic properties. You should be careful to add it to water in a ratio of up to four cloves per gallon of water.
Likewise, you may also think about providing apple cider vinegar. Make sure that you don’t add a lot of vinegar. Even a small amount of apple cider vinegar can help your chicken to boost their immunity. You will be able to provide all the support needed by the chicken to recover from their illnesses with the help of apple cider vinegar.
Final Words
Now you have a good overall understanding of the items that you should be feeding your sick chicken. Come up with a proper diet plan based on these, and you will be able to provide all the support needed by them.