Why do you guys give your chickens apple cider vinegar?

[cypressdrake]

I give apple cider to control worms, and to flush out the digestive system. This was what was used back in Bible days before vet's and store bought worm med's.

 

[Heltonhenhouse]

I would never use bleach --- I use ACV AND VINEGAR and my chickens are healthy, and shiney!

 

[farmgirl02]

I use it because it helps healthy buffs.

 

[calliescluckers]

me too.... did you find anything on this

 

[EastTXChickens]

I use a little home grown non-fizzy Kombucha in my chicks water.

If you google 'kombucha chickens' you'll get info on the subject and it's explained much more clearly than I can do.

The first hit is info about feeding kombucha SCOBY (mother) to chickens: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/626552/kombucha-scoby-for-the-girls

 

[Sharon Bee]

I give a splash in my water also for my 11 chickens. They are healthy but are eating each other's feathers!

 

[tantricdragon13]

I use the chicken water nipples and a 5 gal bucket. I just installed the new system yesterday (upgrading from the inverted fountain type - no more mud and poop in the water! Yeah!). I plan to start with the regular ACV that you can buy at the store, mainly for slime/algae control as we are beginning to enter our hot months (though from what I've read here and in a few other threads, it still has some benefits for the chooks, but not as good as the raw ACV with mother). I was thinking a lighter dose, such as 1/2 tbs per gallon. Would a lighter dose such as this be OK to keep in the bucket on a continual basis?

Eventually I think I'd like to try making some ACV down the road. I do have some health food stores around here that sell Bragg's. Some folks suggested even being able to take the mother from Bragg's, add it to the cheaper ACV, and then be able to reuse the mother from there. How is this working out for the folks that have tried it?

On a human use ACV note, I like making a hot tea with Bragg's and honey (and a little colloidal silver if I'm really under the weather). To me it tastes just like a hot apple cider! Tasty!

 

[calliescluckers]

I use the chicken water nipples and a 5 gal bucket. I just installed the new system yesterday (upgrading from the inverted fountain type - no more mud and poop in the water! Yeah!). I plan to start with the regular ACV that you can buy at the store, mainly for slime/algae control as we are beginning to enter our hot months (though from what I've read here and in a few other threads, it still has some benefits for the chooks, but not as good as the raw ACV with mother). I was thinking a lighter dose, such as 1/2 tbs per gallon. Would a lighter dose such as this be OK to keep in the bucket on a continual basis?

Eventually I think I'd like to try making some ACV down the road. I do have some health food stores around here that sell Bragg's. Some folks suggested even being able to take the mother from Bragg's, add it to the cheaper ACV, and then be able to reuse the mother from there. How is this working out for the folks that have tried it?

On a human use ACV note, I like making a hot tea with Bragg's and honey (and a little colloidal silver if I'm really under the weather). To me it tastes just like a hot apple cider! Tasty!

I also have those nipple waterers, i thought you can't use ACV in them because the acid with wear the metals?

 

[tantricdragon13]

I also have those nipple waterers, i thought you can't use ACV in them because the acid with wear the metals?

From the reading I've done here on this thread, and other conversations here on BYC, it sounds like you can use ACV with the nipples since they are most often using stainless as the metal element. From my understanding, this won't corrode, but other metallic waters aren't made of stainless and will corrode.

Or at least that was my understanding. I'm using the Harris Farms Poultry Watering Nipples. If anyone has experience and can confirm or correct me, that would be great! I'd hate to damage my equipment and harm my girls.

 

[ourltlflock]

I have been using ACV with the nipples in a 5 gallon bucket now for 6 mos, I see no corrosion (yet). Seems to be working just fine...