Who would have thought that coconut water could be beneficial to chickens? What a surprise! Right from day one of your chick’s life, all the necessary nutrients needed to keep your day old chick active and healthy are embedded in coconut water. This superb electrolyte is absolutely perfect for broiler chicken and can in no time restore relief to your stressed chickens. We would take this step by step, just in case you’re not familiar with the word chicken electrolyte.
What is an electrolyte?
Minerals found in the body with an electric charge are referred to as “Electrolytes”. Most of these minerals are located in the tissues, urine, blood as well as other fluid in the body. Simply because of its electrolytes nature coconut water is beneficial and well suitable for your chickens.
Why are Electrolytes Essential to your Chicken?
- Electrolytes stabilizes the amount of water in chickens.
- Electrolytes helps in reducing stress in chickens.
- It helps in flushing out waste products out of a chicken’s cells.
- They aid in transporting essential nutrients into chicken’s cells
- Maintenance of the chicken’s pH level is as a result of the electrolytes.
Some Facts About Coconut Water
- Coconut water is fat free
- It is extremely low in calories and sugar
- It is 100% natural.
- Coconut water is famously referred to as heaven’s dew
- It is deeply rich in vitamins. Vitamins and electrolytes like magnesium, potassium, and calcium are present in coconut water.
- A mature coconut water is 90% richer in protein and has higher pH levels, unlike a young coconut which is low in protein and has a higher sugar levels.
The special preference for coconut water lies in a well-known saying which says “No one knows how water gets into the coconut”. It is amazing how coconut water can be transfused into the human body exactly like blood, that’s to show you the level of purity coconut water has. As research would have it, coconut water has been said and found to be beneficial to chickens and in no way can it be harmful to your chickens health. Taking a step further, we would look at how coconut water can be beneficial in poultry farming.
READ: Selecting #1 Best Chicken Egg Incubator
Benefits of Coconut water to Day Old Chicks
A day old chicks are usually very fragile and ought to be handled with extreme care. Your chicks often go through a lot of stress on their way from the hatchery to your farm. So, we have more than enough reasons to give chicks this chicken electrolyte. According to some of the benefits listed above, it helps in relieving stressed chicks. So it would also serve as a worthy anti-stress for that delicate moment.
When Do I Need this Chicken Electrolyte?
- Immediately after getting your day-old chicks.
- When your chicks are agitated by a prey such as snake in a layer pen.
- After excess handling like manual vaccination, de-beaking, etc.
- When they are under heat stress, this occurs most especially in broilers
- When transferring point of cage layers
- To make up for temporary overcrowding
- Usually during lices or mites invasion
- It helps during moulting in layers.
READ: BROODING IN POULTRY
So much benefits embedded in this natural juice, any farmer who is yet to use this has no idea of what he/she is missing out.
Dosage of this Chicken Electrolyte
Just in case, there is no limit to how much your chicks can take. It can be diluted with water or served natural to your birds. More importantly, it is best advised to serve the fresh coconut water so as not to lose its nutrients due to exposure.
Your chicks and matured chickens surely deserve a treat. What’s holding you from giving them this superb treat all the time?
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