Prevention of COCCIDIOSIS and other poultry diseases in chicks~ ACV.

[sarajane]

Thank you for that

 

[Eggcessive]

Just realize that people on BYC are trying to be helpful, but sometimes they come off kind of aggressive about treatment and medications. I like to tell people what I would do, and people can take advice or look up other information. Sometimes people just love to tell people what to do, and get mad if someone chooses their own way. Just ignore this because you will feel more self confidant in taking care of your chickens the longer you have them. I love to read BYC threads and learn as much as I can, then write things down in a notebook for future reference. I have learned that some who give advice (very few, but some) don't know what they are talking about, or will quote someone else's way that they haven't tried. Hope your chicks get better.

 

[sarajane]

Thanks! They are on the mend and I can see huge improvement in one of my buffs she's starting to look almost normal

 

[shellyjimrye]

Glad to hear that she is doing better!

 

[Quailsong]

Just realize that people on BYC are trying to be helpful, but sometimes they come off kind of aggressive about treatment and medications. I like to tell people what I would do, and people can take advice or look up other information. Sometimes people just love to tell people what to do, and get mad if someone chooses their own way. Just ignore this because you will feel more self confidant in taking care of your chickens the longer you have them. I love to read BYC threads and learn as much as I can, then write things down in a notebook for future reference. I have learned that some who give advice (very few, but some) don't know what they are talking about, or will quote someone else's way that they haven't tried. Hope your chicks get better.

This 1,000 times. Trust your gut. Sometimes you make mistakes.It happens to all of us. But if you pay attention to your situation, you're unlikely to make the same mistake twice.

 

[sanmar4chickens]

Thanks! They are on the mend and I can see huge improvement in one of my buffs she's starting to look almost normal

This 1,000 times. Trust your gut. Sometimes you make mistakes.It happens to all of us. But if you pay attention to your situation, you're unlikely to make the same mistake twice.

Glad to hear that she is doing better!

Just realize that people on BYC are trying to be helpful, but sometimes they come off kind of aggressive about treatment and medications.  I like to tell people what I would do, and people can take advice or look up other information.  Sometimes people just love to tell people what to do, and get mad if someone chooses their own way.  Just ignore this because you will feel more self confidant in taking care of your chickens the longer you have them.  I love to read BYC threads and learn as much as I can, then write things down in a notebook for future reference.  I have learned that some who give advice (very few, but some) don't know what they are talking about, or will quote someone else's way that they haven't tried.  Hope your chicks get better.

This is so true. First days joining BYC, I came across a post with pictures of bloody poop and I freaked. I had let the my 2 week old chicks out in the yard since the weather was warm and reasoning on the fact that hens take their babies out early in their life. But I tell you what those pictures had me concerned and looking for signs that the chicks were going to get the dreaded cocci.

After reading and reasearching what cocci was I felt more assured I could handle the situation if the need arises.

In my opinion the choice you make depends on how you view health and medicine. I personally am the kind of person interested in preventative health, my first choice I treat myself and my family naturally, its just how I feel about that. Yet, I will choose medicine if I need to. I don't judge others for their choices, no one should really. Like the quoted comment above EDUCATE yourself and take each opinion with a grain of salt. There is no hard set rules, gleen from all info and incorporate what you feel is the best choice.

 

[Suzierd]

Well aside from the Marek's, my flock has proven to be more healthy than most, as proven by the Marek's survivors that I have living after a year since exposure and contracting the disease. Oh, I do have to tell you that I now have a hen with untreatable Gleet caused by giving ACV in water that was already acidic enough naturally. Lucky I did some research before the rest of my flock could be affected. A much better way of introducing acid into the water would be with a vitamin C tablet. The birds would get the benefit of the added vitamin C and the ascorbic acid has been proven scientifically in many studies to actually work in clearing the gut of unwanted 'bugs' and diseases. The addition of ACV for issues with the crop has been shown to actually help, but for anything further down, like the gizzard, etc., not so much. Acidification with vitamin C on the other hand is a whole gut treatment when used in the water and has been shown to help poultry who live in areas with hot temperatures. http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/programs/extension/publicat/wqwm/pst42.html http://www.webmd.com/diet/apple-cider-vinegar http://www.energiseforlife.com/word...-acidosis-the-problem-of-an-acidic-lifestyle/ http://blog.chickenwaterer.com/2012/12/dont-use-apple-cider-vinegar-acv-in.html http://ijabpt.com/pdf/24015-II-Ibrahim%20Talebi-IRAN[1].pdf

Are you sure it was the ACV that caused the Gleet? Most treatments for Gleet say use ACV.

 

[Haunted55]

Are you sure it was the ACV that caused the Gleet? Most treatments for Gleet say use ACV.

Positive.

If you have city supplied water, you can usually depend on them to keep the PH of your water around the magic 7 PH. Using ACV with this is going to bring your water's acidity level down to the 'good' level of between 5.5 and 6 PH. This is the desirable level of acidity to keep secretions fluid and allow the crop to stay healthy. If, as I do, you have yor own water supply and you don't know the mean PH of your water, using ACV can be asking for trouble. My water's PH is normally a 5.5 acidic level. It explains why my animals grow so large and healthy, why I normally don't have any problems with algae growth. Still, over the winter, I had to store water in barrels that had been cleaned with bleach and scrubbed and bleached and rinsed again to ensure they were clean. Two 45 gallon barrels would last a week and a half in my chicken house. Thinking it may need to have something to keep any film or whatever from growing, I added 3/4 of a cup of ACV to 90 gallons of water. I already knew what my PH was but this small addition shouldn't have hurt. After a few weeks of using the water, I noticed the first case of the Gleet. Okay, a freak thing, fix it. A couple of weeks later, almost every bird in that house had it and the original bird was already inside my house being treated. Roosters and all had the Gleet, even birds that had no contact with the others. The only ones who did not have it were 3 roos who were in a pen by themselves. They were getting a vitamin laced water that I mixed in my house and carried out to them each morning. They weren't getting the water from the barrels. There's the answer, empty and clean the barrels again, refill with plain water. Probiotics all around and within a week there were 10 birds left showing symptoms. Treated all of them with Copper Sulfate and everyone of them except the first one is now completely clean and clear. Glinny, my Dark Cornish hen still has a slight discharge and may now be a chronic case.

This is why I say people need to do a lot more research before they just arbitrarily give anything to their birds. Most times we can skate through unscathed but sometimes, not so much and it's our birds who pay the price. This can be avoided very easily with a few simple clicks of the mouse and a search engine. Look at everything, ask on BYC, and form your own opinions. Ultimately our birds' health comes down to our actions and we have to live with the consequences of those we have made. You don't do the homework, you can't complain later when something doesn't go as planned. If this seems harsh, I'm sorry. As someone who has kept chickens and has gone through the wringer with them and come out the other side, I offer my help where I can. I don't have all the answers, still working at it, lol, but I've picked up quite a few along the way. I know who gives 'on the money' advice and have learned to take it when it is given. 99.9% of the time, it's going to work and everything is good. The other 1% of the time is usually that something was forgotten or overlooked in the intial explanation of the problem.

 

[Michael Apple]

Are you sure it was the ACV that caused the Gleet? Most treatments for Gleet say use ACV.

I've never seen a recommendation of ACV for vent gleet by any credible source. Different types of fungi require different treatments. Aspergillus Niger is the fungus that produces molds which cause Aspergillosis in chickens. Citric acid is actually derived from Aspergillus Niger in laboratories when the mold matures and filters off, when calcium hydroxide and sufuric acid are mixed with it. So an antibacterial acid which fights bacteria won't always be effective against yeasts like Candida. Acetic acid from vinegar is also a result of a fermentation process which combats certain bacteria. It does nothing for Candida yeast, whereas probiotics like acidophilus help maintain acidity and caprylic acid, which is derived from coconut oil, are anti-yeast/fungal. I'm not sure how ACV could cause vent gleet, but it could perpetuate it by being ineffective. I've cured a yeast infection by the use of Nystatin (Medistatin) and the use of Miconazole ointment in the cloaca. Probiotics, vitamins, minerals followed the treatment.

 

[Haunted55]

I've never seen a recommendation of ACV for vent gleet by any credible source. Different types of fungi require different treatments. Aspergillus Niger is the fungus that produces molds which cause Aspergillosis in chickens. Citric acid is actually derived from Aspergillus Niger in laboratories when the mold matures and filters off, when calcium hydroxide and sufuric acid are mixed with it. So an antibacterial acid which fights bacteria won't always be effective against yeasts like Candida. Acetic acid from vinegar is also a result of a fermentation process which combats certain bacteria. It does nothing for Candida yeast, whereas probiotics like acidophilus help maintain acidity and caprylic acid, which is derived from coconut oil, are anti-yeast/fungal. I'm not sure how ACV could cause vent gleet, but it could perpetuate it by being ineffective. I've cured a yeast infection by the use of Nystatin (Medistatin) and the use of Miconazole ointment in the cloaca. Probiotics, vitamins, minerals followed the treatment.

It caused too low an acidic level and left them open for problems. As you know, any change in the balance of the digestive track is going to bring about problems. Even that small bit of ACV in the water here brought the PH levels down to a 4. Way out of the norm.