Can Chickens Eat Chicken Broth? A Splash, Not the Waterer

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Please read this firstWe are not vets. If a bird is unwell, off her feed, or you think she has eaten something toxic, call an avian vet rather than working from a blog post — including this one. Treat anything here as a starting point, not a diagnosis.

My call: yes, a splash, as long as it’s unsalted or low-sodium. That means plain stock you made without salt, or a low-sodium store broth, poured over the layer feed and counted as a treat. Regular store broth and bouillon stay in the kitchen. And broth never goes in the waterer, not even the good stuff. Here’s the short reason. To a hen, broth is mostly water with salt in it. By my math on USDA’s numbers, a cup of regular ready-to-serve chicken broth carries about 924 milligrams of sodium. That’s four to six days of the sodium her layer feed already gives her. Meanwhile it has almost none of what people buy it for. A whole cup holds about 10 milligrams of calcium, and a laying hen eats grams of calcium a day.

I rewrote this page from 25 sources, all listed at the bottom. The broth numbers are five USDA FoodData Central entries. Three are store broths, ready-to-serve or canned, from regular down to low-sodium. The other two are bouillon made up from a cube or powder and home-prepared stock. What a hen eats and drinks in a day, and the calcium in her feed, come from Alabama Extension’s guide to feeding the laying hen. The sodium in her feed is from the University of Maine’s extension. The salt and water lines come from the Merck Veterinary Manual. So do the lines on fat and avocado, and the one on cannibalism. The treat rule, the onion and citrus lines and the vet line are Colorado State’s. Dr. Jacquie Jacob of the University of Kentucky wrote the three extension.org pages I used, on feeding for eggs, on botulism and on cannibalism. UC Davis adds the fat and avocado lines, and the University of Georgia adds the water line. The cooling and keeping rules are from USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The chick lines are Cackle Hatchery’s and Alabama’s, and the British rules are GOV.UK’s. The calcium Daily Value for people is from the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, the salt-and-sodium line is the FDA’s, and the poison line is the ASPCA’s.

A word on the photos, since none of them is a pot of chicken broth. I didn’t find a real photo of a plain pot of broth I could use, so the pan up top is Zizi zi’s. Its page calls it cooked food on a black cooking pan, and its tags say stew. Bruce Dupree took the hen and the waterer shot for Alabama Extension on the same day in 2009. The waterer photo’s title puts it on a small farm. The chicks at their red feeders are Dupree’s too, from August of that year. Aliona Gumeniuk shot the onion and garlic. Jefferson Sees took the noodle soup in small paper cups, and it’s here for FSIS’s smaller containers, not for what’s in them. Benjamin Jopen’s bowl of chanterelles is tagged vegetarian. Under the British rule that changes nothing, since GOV.UK bans catering waste as feed “regardless of whether it’s vegetable or meat based”.

The old page opened with a story I can’t back up. The scratch bag was “bone dry!”, thanks to “the college football games I’d been watchin’”, and the hens were “peckin’ at each other in a full on panic”. So out came the leftovers from “the big pot of chicken noodle soup I’d made the night before”. Then came a whole section on what happened next, with “a Jackson Pollock painting of poop” and “Within an hour their insides were in an uproar.” I can’t show you any of that happened, so it’s gone. So is “So after my debacle, I did some research”, since that research was never named. If you want the real list of what too much salt does to a bird, Merck has one, and it’s further down.

Plenty of the claims were wrong, or had nothing behind them. It said “a cup of broth contains around 20% of your daily calcium needs”. USDA’s five entries come to about 7 to 19 milligrams of calcium a cup, by my math. The Daily Value for calcium is 1,300 milligrams, so even the top one is under 2%. It said “Collagen’s important for strong bones” in chickens and people, and later “that collagen is great for strong eggshells”. None of my sources says either one, so they’re out. It said “chickens evolved to get most of their hydration from their foods, not liquid”. Nope. Alabama says chickens drink about twice their feed’s weight in water. It gave “1/4 to 1/2 a cup max per 5 birds”, with a step-up each week, and no source for any of it. It said “For extra gut benefits, add chopped garlic or ginger to the pot too.” and that “Turmeric, ginger or garlic are especially gentle yet effective anti-inflammatory spices”. No source of mine backs those. Its fridge line, “3-5 days”, runs a day past what FSIS says.

A few more had to go. The chick routine, starting with “dampen chick starter mash just until moist throughout by mixing in broth a tablespoon at a time”, is out, because Cackle Hatchery says never to give chicks salted or seasoned food. So is “Stir a teaspoon of powdered calcium or oyster shell into each quart of broth before mixing into feed.” Alabama says a hen on a good complete layer feed probably doesn’t need oyster shell at all. The line that “broth can help soothe sore joints” in older hens had no source either. “Chicken also love the aromatic zest of citrus fruits like oranges and lemons.” runs into Colorado State’s rule against citrus in scraps. The tip to “blend chicken stock with avocado or mango” goes against UC Davis, which says to avoid avocado. “Crab, shrimp or fish shells add vital minerals” had no source, and neither did the three minerals it named. And “lay with gusto and grow sleek feathers” isn’t something broth can promise. One line was close to right, though: “Stick with plain, low-sodium chicken or veggie broth with no added herbs or seasonings.” I’d keep that one, and be a lot more careful about the amount.

The short version.

My call: a splash of unsalted homemade stock or low-sodium broth over the feed is fine. Regular store broth and bouillon, no.
A cup of regular store broth carries about 924 mg of sodium (USDA, my math). A layer’s whole day of feed carries about 150 to 225 mg (Maine and Alabama, my math).
My call: broth never goes in the waterer. Merck says chickens tolerate up to 0.25% salt in drinking water, and regular broth’s sodium alone is 0.37% of its weight.
It counts as a treat. All treats together stay under 10% of the day’s diet (Colorado State), which is 10 to 15 grams a hen by my math.
My call: take the hens’ share out before the salt and onion go in, since Colorado State says no salty scraps and no onions. I leave garlic out too.
Cool it fast in small containers, lift off the fat, and use it within 3 to 4 days or freeze it (FSIS, Merck).
Chicks get starter and water, and no broth (Cackle Hatchery, Alabama).
In Britain, my read is it’s a no by law. The rules there bar kitchen scraps and meat products from poultry, pets included (GOV.UK).
My call: broth isn’t medicine. I found no source that says it helps a sick hen, and she needs a vet who sees chickens (Colorado State).

A Cup of Broth Is Mostly Salty Water

A black pan of bubbling orange soup with chunks of carrot on a gas stove, seen from above, a white enamel bowl of something red beside it — Photo by Zizi zi on Unsplash

Let’s start with what’s actually in a store broth. USDA’s FoodData Central lists regular ready-to-serve chicken broth at 97.8 grams of water per 100 grams. The rest is a little protein (0.64 grams), a trace of fat, 6 calories, 4 milligrams of calcium and 371 milligrams of sodium. USDA weighs a cup of it at 249 grams. So by my math, one cup holds about 924 milligrams of sodium, 10 milligrams of calcium and under 2 grams of protein.

Here’s how the other kinds line up on sodium, per 100 grams, all from USDA:

Bouillon from a cube or powder, made up with water: 401 mg.
Regular ready-to-serve broth: 371 mg.
Reduced-sodium ready-to-serve broth: 231 mg.
Home-prepared stock: 143 mg.
Low-sodium canned broth: 30 mg.

Now hold that against her feed. The University of Maine’s extension says sodium goes into chicken feed “at the rate of about 0.15% sodium in the feed mix.” That’s about 150 milligrams per 100 grams of feed, by my math. So gram for gram, regular broth is about two and a half times as salty as her layer feed. Home-prepared stock comes out about even with it. Only the low-sodium broth is well under, at about a fifth. Keep in mind that USDA’s stock entry is somebody’s recipe, not yours. Your stock is exactly as salty as what you put in the pot.

And calcium? Alabama’s guide puts a layer diet at 3% to 4% calcium, and it says “A laying hen will consume between 100 and 150 grams of feed per day”. By my math, that’s 3 to 6 grams of calcium a day. A whole cup of regular broth brings about 10 milligrams. A quarter to a third of a gram of layer feed holds about the same. Honestly, broth isn’t a calcium source. The old page’s 20% was about people anyway, and it was wrong there too. NIH’s Office of Dietary Supplements says “The DV for calcium is 1,300 mg for adults and children age 4 years and older”. Ten milligrams is under 1% of that.

USDA’s own lab and survey entries in FoodData Central have no bone broth. A search there for bone broth turns up 424 entries, every one a brand’s own label entry, so for one of those, read its label. The closest is the home-prepared stock, at 2.52 grams of protein per 100 grams. It’s still mostly water. And none of my sources says a hen needs collagen out of a pot.

One more thing folks ask: isn’t it odd to feed chicken to chickens? It sounds odd, but no source I read ties chicken in the feed to hens pecking each other. Merck says “No single cause of cannibalism in poultry has been identified”. It names genetics, crowding, very bright light and nutritional imbalances as things that go along with it. Jacob’s page says “Cannibalism is a learned behavior that can spread quickly through a flock.” I went through more of this in the post on whether chickens will eat a dead flockmate.

The Salt Adds Up Fast for a Hen

A barred black and white hen with a red comb and wattles walking across dry straw in the sun — Photo by Bruce Dupree, Alabama Extension on Flickr (CC0)

Salt isn’t the enemy. Hens need some. Maine’s extension says “Most chickens need between 0.12% to 0.2% sodium in the diet.” It also says “Without salt, growth is slowed, and chicks are dull and listless.” So her layer feed already has it mixed in, and any broth you add stacks on top of that.

Here’s the math. At about 0.15% sodium and 100 to 150 grams of feed a day, a layer gets roughly 150 to 225 milligrams of sodium from her feed. One cup of regular store broth has about 924. That’s four to six days’ worth in a single cup. Bouillon made up from a cube runs a little higher still.

Now the share she’d actually get. Colorado State says “Treats should make up no more than 10% of their daily diet.” With Alabama’s 100 to 150 grams of feed, that’s 10 to 15 grams of treats a hen a day, by my math, the same figure I used in the post on old carrots. And that’s every treat she gets that day, not just the broth. Fifteen grams of broth is about a tablespoon, going by USDA’s cup weight. In regular broth, that’s about 56 milligrams of sodium, a quarter on top of what her feed gave her. In low-sodium broth, it’s under 5.

So does a quarter more matter? Merck says “animals can tolerate high concentrations of salt or sodium in the diet if they have continuous access to fresh water.” So with a full waterer, my read is a spoonful of regular broth probably won’t hurt a healthy hen. But Colorado State’s rule for scraps is plain: “Make sure they are not salty or have citrus or are moldy.” Regular broth is salty by any measure, so I’d skip it and use low-sodium or unsalted. Salty leftovers are on the list of foods you shouldn’t feed chickens too. If you buy a low-sodium broth, read the label. If onion is on it, I’d skip that one as well.

Merck’s list of what salt poisoning looks like in birds is short and nasty. It starts with “increased thirst, dyspnea, fluid discharge from the beak”, and it goes on to weakness and diarrhea, then “leg paralysis.” Dyspnea means labored breathing. If you see that after a salty treat, call a vet, don’t wait it out. Colorado State says “Flock owners must have an identified veterinarian in their area that can diagnose and treat chickens.” For a poison question, ASPCA Poison Control is at (888) 426-4435, and “A consultation fee may apply.” And broth isn’t medicine. I didn’t find a source that says it helps a sick or older hen.

Water Stays Water

White chickens in a wire-fenced pen on grass, one drinking from the rim of an orange bell waterer fed by a black hose — Photo by Bruce Dupree, Alabama Extension on Flickr (CC0)

This is the big one. Don’t pour broth in the waterer, and don’t swap it in for water on a cold day. Alabama says “chickens consume twice as much water (by weight) as they do feed”. Merck’s backyard flock page gives a range of 1.5 to 3.5 parts water for every part of feed. So a laying hen drinks a lot more than she eats. Alabama’s example hen drinks half a pound of water a day. If that were regular broth, by my math she’d take in close to 850 milligrams of sodium a day, several times what her feed gives her.

Merck is direct about it: “Chickens can tolerate up to 0.25% salt in drinking water but are susceptible to salt toxicosis when water intake is restricted.” Regular store broth is 0.37% sodium by weight. The FDA’s sodium page says “Sodium is a mineral, and one of the chemical elements found in salt.” So my read is that regular broth is past Merck’s line before you even count the rest of the salt. And a waterer full of broth means no fresh water at all, which is the very thing Merck warns about.

Unsalted stock doesn’t belong in there either, by my call. FSIS says “Bacteria grow rapidly between the temperatures of 40° F and 140° F.” My read is that a waterer out in the run spends much of the year in that range. Alabama puts it this way: “Complete feeds (along with clean water) are designed to be the sole source of nutrients.” Clean water is half of that sentence. The University of Georgia’s water primer says flocks should get “adequate and unlimited access to water”. So the waterer gets water, fresh every day, and nothing else.

Wet mash is the other trap. Merck says “High salt content in wet mash is more likely to cause poisoning than in dry feed, probably because birds eat more wet mash.” So a bowl of feed soaked through with salty broth is riskier than a splash over dry feed. If you pour a splash over the feed, keep it a splash. Alabama adds that “the unconsumed wet mash will spoil quickly”, and wet feed draws flies. Colorado State says to put out no more than they’ll clean up in 5 to 10 minutes. Jacob gives it as “no more than chickens can finish in 20 minutes.” Either way, pick up what’s left.

A red onion cut in half, garlic bulbs and cloves, tomatoes and a red pepper on dark slate — Photo by Aliona Gumeniuk on Unsplash

If you’re making stock for your own supper anyway, here’s the easy way. Ladle out the hens’ cup before you season the pot. Most of what goes in a stock pot after that is stuff I’d keep out of the run.

Salt. Colorado State says scraps shouldn’t be salty, so the hens’ share comes out first.
Onion. Colorado State’s list of things to avoid puts onions right next to rhubarb and dried beans. Jacob adds that “scraps with the strong taste, such as onions” shouldn’t go to laying hens “because eggs might take on those flavors.”
Garlic. None of my sources rules on garlic for chickens. Merck’s onion and garlic page is about cats and dogs most of all, and it names “dry onion soup mixes” among the concentrated forms. I leave garlic out, as my call.
Avocado. No avocado blends. Merck’s avocado page lists chickens among the animals it can hurt, though it says “chickens and turkeys seem more resistant” than caged birds. UC Davis says to avoid it. Colorado State says the skins and pits are toxic and the flesh is fine. When my sources split like that, I leave it out.
Citrus. Colorado State says no citrus in scraps. I went through the rest in the post on oranges and peels.
Fat. Merck’s backyard flock page says “Fat scraps should also be avoided, because they promote the development of fatty liver and acute death from liver rupture.” UC Davis says “so avoid fatty foods”. So chill the stock and lift off the fat before the hens get any.

My call is that the chicken itself isn’t the problem, outside Britain anyway. In the chicken and dumplings post I came out the same way: set a little plain chicken aside before it goes in the pot. The cooked bones are a different question, and none of my sources answered it, so they stay in the kitchen, as my call.

Cool It Fast, Skim It, and Use It in 3 to 4 Days

Two brown paper cups of noodle soup topped with sliced green onion on a black and white striped tablecloth, red glasses behind — Photo by Jefferson Sees on Unsplash

A big pot of stock is a lot of warm liquid, and that’s a food safety problem before it’s a chicken problem. FSIS says “A big pot of soup, for example, will take a long time to cool, inviting bacteria to multiply and increasing the danger of foodborne illness.” Its fix is to “divide the pot of soup into smaller containers so it will cool quickly.” It also says “Within 2 hours of cooking food or after it is removed from an appliance keeping it warm, leftovers must be refrigerated.”

Then there’s the clock. FSIS says “Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or frozen for 3 to 4 months.” I’d go by that. Freezing small portions works well, since a hen’s share is only a spoonful anyway. Once the stock is cold, the fat sets on top and lifts right off.

And never spoiled. Jacob writes “Make sure that the scraps are not allowed to rot, or botulism might result.” Jacob’s botulism page says “Birds can get botulism when they eat spoiled feed or infected carcasses or maggots that have been in infected carcasses.” If it smells off, or it’s been in the fridge past four days, it goes in the trash, not the run.

Chicks Stay on Starter and Water

Dozens of fluffy yellow chicks crowding around red pan feeders full of crumbled feed on a bed of wood shavings — Photo by Bruce Dupree, Alabama Extension on Flickr (CC0)

No broth for chicks. The old page had a whole routine for dampening starter with broth, and I cut all of it. Cackle Hatchery says “Feed only starter ration for at least the first two weeks”, and it’s blunt about extras: “Never feed chicks foods that are flavored with sugar, salt or other seasoning, butter, or oil.” Regular store broth has 371 milligrams of sodium in every 100 grams. Alabama wants pullets on “a complete starter/grower diet from 1 to 6 weeks of age as their sole source of nutrition.”

Water’s the same story. Cackle says you can add an electrolyte and vitamin mix to their water for about a week, to help them over the stress of hatching and shipping. “After that, provide only fresh, clean water.” It also warns that “moist foods in warm brooder can develop mold and bacteria”, and a broth-soaked mash is exactly that. In the post on baby chicks and rice I went with Alabama and waited the full 6 weeks for rice. My call: broth waits that long too. Even then it’s a smaller splash than the hens get. That post works a 6-week-old’s treat share out at about 5 grams. In broth, that’s about a teaspoon, by my math from USDA’s cup weight.

In Britain, the Answer Is No

A dark ribbed bowl of chanterelle mushrooms, lettuce, bread and soft white cheese on a wooden table — Photo by Benjamin Jopen on Unsplash

If you keep hens in England, Scotland or Wales, this whole page is a no. The government’s guidance on animal by-products says “You must never use catering waste as farm animal feed”. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) warned farmers and smallholders not to feed kitchen waste to pigs and poultry, “even if they are being kept as pets.” Its words: “It remains illegal to feed catering waste, kitchen scraps, meat or meat products to farmed animals.” Chicken broth is made from chicken. My read is that it falls under that rule, homemade or store-bought. If you’re not sure, ask APHA before anything from the kitchen goes in the run.

Sources

Sources checked November 3, 2026. The FSIS and NIH pages, along with the extension.org botulism page, turned away a plain download, so I read them in a browser. A splash of unsalted or low-sodium broth, counted as a treat, is my call, and so is skipping regular broth and bouillon, plus any broth with onion on the label. Keeping broth out of the waterer even when it’s unsalted is my call too, built on what Merck and Alabama say, along with Georgia’s water primer and FSIS. Leaving out garlic and avocado is my call, and so is keeping the cooked bones in the kitchen. Reading chicken broth as a meat product under Britain’s rule is my read, and every per-cup and per-gram number worked out from USDA’s per-100-gram figures is my math. We aren’t vets. If a hen looks sick, call a vet who sees poultry.

Related read: How to Raise Chickens for Eggs — Instant PDF download. Secure checkout by Stripe

A Cup of Broth Is Mostly Salty Water

The Salt Adds Up Fast for a Hen

Water Stays Water

Take the Hens’ Share Out Before the Onion Goes In

Cool It Fast, Skim It, and Use It in 3 to 4 Days

Chicks Stay on Starter and Water

In Britain, the Answer Is No

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