Apple Cider Vinegar and hens

My avian vet said to put cider vinegar in the water for the chickens. He said that it was very good for them.

GardenFae said:

Yeah, I did a mix of electrolyte water the other day and they didn't seem to like it at all. Silly birds...

As far as cleaning goes, I splash ACV in occasionally but have noticed it only retards bacterial growth for a few days, and since I empty my birds' 1-gallon waterer and refill fresh daily anyway, it's not really worth the trouble for me to use ACV. Usually I dump, rinse bedding/feed out of the waterer base with a jet from the hose, and give it a quick swipe with my finger to check for slime before refilling. Any slime gets thoroughly cleaned out with the hose jet and every 5-7 days I take the waterer inside for a deep scrub with extra-hot water. The extra cleaning once a week is less inconvenient than having to measure out ACV into the water every day and the daily rinse and refill takes care of any daily build-up or messes in the water.

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You do exactly what I do for my chookies drinking water. However I add 1/2 cup of ACV to 3 gallons of water for my goats on hot days like 85° degrees and when it gets in the mid 90's and up in the 100+ degrees I occasionally make an electrolyte drink for them of

1/2 gallon hot water
3 table spoons unsulphered molasses
1 Table spoon kosher salt
1/2 cup ACV

the goats love it do you think the chickens might benefit from it too.. I am a novice but do a lot of research and reading but I do realize nothing beats experience.

suellen123 said:

I have been reading some posts about adding apple cider vinegar to chicken water to help aid in keeping the water free of bacteria and thought I might start to do that. I did a little research though and it says that ACV will deplete the stored calcium in your chickens if given in hot weather. As calcium is so important to the hens to prevent egg bound issues I wanted to see if I could get some feedback regarding this. I was thinking about doing a teaspoon to a two gallon water feeder we have a few times a week (3). Do you think it would be better to just wash the container with something that wont hurt the chickens. Also, I have read that a lemon slice in the water will aid in reducing bacteria in the water. I live in Florida where it is hot all the time and I want to make sure that the chickens don't get sick due to the heat and bacteria growth in the water.

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If you are worried about the minute amount of ACV, then an alternative to bleach would be to use Hydrogen Peroxide in a spray bottle and rinse after that to cleanse your waterer. Perfectly harmless and very effective against bacteria and virus. Soap and water are not a disinfectant. I recently lost two of my 6 hens to bacteria infection (coccis). There are 9 species of which attack chickens. I switched to "medicated" Starter&Grower Purina brand which has amprolium in it. I also started a 5 day treatment of Corid( Amprolium) 20% soluble powder I got from the local Tractor Supply Store. The bloody stools have cleared up and they have color back in their combs and wattles. Another possibility to add to your waterer is colloidal silver which you can get from the health food store, but that can get pricey. lol I used one ounce per gallon of well water. BTW any bleach product has chlorine which will "gas off" overnight. If you have city water then allow it to stand overnight and it will be gone, which is what you do for fish in your aquarium.
On another note, I think you are over thinking this feeding procedure. I have a gravity fed feeder and they eat what they want when they want and I let them out in the "chicken corral"


to scratch about. I also give them a treat in the evening of scratch that I get from the local co-op feed store.
I left Sebastian, FL to move here outside of Grove, OK near the Grand Lake of the Cherokee. We love it and are having a mild summer mostly mid 80s, but a 95 degree day today. lol Good luck with the chicks Keep some Corid around and give them a treatment if you have not done so. Ducks chickens, cows, goats all good. dose for powder is one teaspoon per gallon of water make fresh daily for five consecutive days.


Waterer had four chicken nipples on bottom (Tractor supply) and a square bucket with lid for cleanliness. They learned to use it right off. I also showed them it trickles into my palm and they drink from it too.lol They are 5 and 1/2 months old now. Good luck with the heat and humidity.
John L

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1785201/#!po=5.20833

Vinegar: Medicinal Uses and Antiglycemic Effect
Carol S. Johnston, PhD, RD and Cindy A. Gaas, BS

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My understanding is chickens don't like citrus. Adding that lemon ... Well.. It's citrus.

Chris09 said:

The reason the feed measurements are in pounds is because that is the correct way to measure out feed. (for all animals)
When you measure by weight you get the correct amount every time, where with volume you can be feeding more or less than the animal needs depending on the size of the feed and or feedstuff at the time of feeding. Example; 1 cup of crumble, 1 cup of pellet and 1 cup of mash all weigh differently so if I feed a mash feed and tell you that I feed a 1/2 cup of feed then you go and feed a 1/2 cup of pellets your birds are getting less feed than mine. Also unless you are feeding a mash feed the size of feed being fed can change from bag to bag and even within a single bag depending on how that bag of feed was stored and or treated.

I see this a lot in all forms of livestock people wanting to know how cups or scoops should I feed, and it is far from being a good practice.

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A very good post

suellen123 said:

I have been reading some posts about adding apple cider vinegar to chicken water to help aid in keeping the water free of bacteria and thought I might start to do that. I did a little research though and it says that ACV will deplete the stored calcium in your chickens if given in hot weather. As calcium is so important to the hens to prevent egg bound issues I wanted to see if I could get some feedback regarding this. I was thinking about doing a teaspoon to a two gallon water feeder we have a few times a week (3). Do you think it would be better to just wash the container with something that wont hurt the chickens. Also, I have read that a lemon slice in the water will aid in reducing bacteria in the water. I live in Florida where it is hot all the time and I want to make sure that the chickens don't get sick due to the heat and bacteria growth in the water.

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Used it for years, especially in hot weather, and no calcium depletion noted. Egg shells strong and molt recovery rapid for all chickens. If the chickens won't drink it, someone has added too much ACV. I usually use a glug or so for our waterer and the chickens like it just fine. Now that I feed fermented feed I don't bother with the ACV in the water unless it's really hot out and the water is getting gunky too early.

Calcium depletion with the use of ACV is sort of one of those chicken urban myths. Ingesting large amounts of ACV can lead to potassium depletion, but who in the world is going to be able to get large amounts of ACV down a chicken? Not going to happen.



The benefits of ACV are many and the only time one runs into problems with it is if it is used in excess~too much and for too long. Not a little for a long time...too much, too long.

http://www.diagnose-me.com/treatment/vinegar.html

In all my research of ACV consumption, I've never seen anything about calcium depletion. Just potassium depletion and that's with excessive use. In all the research, not just what I included today, I've found that it actually increases gut acid which in turn helps release calcium from foods and makes it more readily absorbed by the body.

My advice is to not listen to such things until you've done some research on your own. There are many chicken myths tossed around on this site but it behooves one to do your own research and come to your own conclusions on the matter. I doubt you'll find a single anecdotal account on here of chickens that were fed ACV having bone calcium depletion. On the other hand, you'll find many accounts of chickens who have had harder shells, better tasting eggs, better feathering, etc. after someone has started using ACV in the water.

Don't overthink it. They're just chickens. They live in their own poop quite happily. A little bacteria isn't going to hurt them. People have kept chickens for a good long time, and they've always scavenged from the dirt quite well, without fancy waterers or feeders, or supplements, or anything but a few table scraps and some grain.

Keep them clean, fed, and watered, and 99% of the time, they'll be just fine.