Hen Rehydration Drink Recipe {help sick or overheated backyard chickens fast}

If the sizzling heat of summer has your flock panting and not laying as many eggs, I have a trick that can help! Here is the hen rehydration drink recipe I use when our Texas temperatures soar past 100°F to keep the chickens hydrated and comfortable:

a mason jar of tea colored brown liquid laying hen rehydration drink for chickens next to a linen napkin and 3 colored chicken eggs with a short glass jar of scratch grains next to it on a white table

Hen Rehydration Drink Recipe

This recipe is extremely quick and easy to mix up in less than 30 seconds!

Hen Rehydration Drink:

bottles of poultry nutridrench grandma's molasses and elderberry syrup next to each other on a white surface

Makes 1 quart for 4 hens (double as needed)

1 quart mason jar with lid, filled to the shoulder with cool water

10 drops Poultry NutriDrench

1 Tbsp unsulphured molasses (I use Grandma’s brand from the pancake syrup aisle)

1 tsp elderberry syrup (optional immune system boost)

Cap the jar and shake to combine the liquid. This makes a brownish liquid that resembles sweet tea. Give to the flock in a clean, heavy open bowl, like a stainless steel dog bowl that is difficult to knock over but easy for you to wash. Can be mixed and refrigerated for up to 48 hours. (Afflinks)

a mason jar of tea colored brown liquid laying hen rehydration drink for chickens next to a linen napkin and 3 colored chicken eggs on a white table

Why this Rehydration Liquid Works

You may recognize this recipe as being similar to the one I give chickens who are ill and also to my baby chicks when they are newly hatched. The molasses sweetens the water, which encourages deep drinking, while adding some B vitamins and trace minerals. Elderberry syrup, which is a berry juice, is sweet and helps support the hen’s immune system. Poultry NutriDrench contains all the vitamins and minerals a hen’s body needs, especially when she’s under heat stress. (Afflink)

Please note that sweet liquids will eventually ferment in the heat. All rehydration drinks that contain natural sugars should be dumped out and refreshed daily to avoid any spoiling or fermentation.

3 hens drinking the brown hen rehdration liquid drink from a glass bowl sitting on top of golden straw litter with a fourth chicken walking nearby — A Whiting True Blue (brown), F3 Olive Egger (black), Prairie Bluebell Egger (blue) & Americana Easter Egger (brown) enjoy this hen rehydration drink on a hot July day.

More Hydration Help:

blue and red plastic hen hydrator hanging chicken waterer — The re-designed hen hydrator is how I keep clean water always available in the run for my flock. (Afflink)

Frozen Treats Can Also Re-hydrate Hens

If your girls are sizzling through a heat wave, you can freeze raisins, grapes, cherry tomatoes, watermelon cubes or rinds and cucumber slices in a shallow tray of water. This will make a frozen treat you can give the flock to help everyone cool off! It can also be used like a giant ice cube in a large bowl of water that releases nourishing treats as it melts.