Why do you guys give your chickens apple cider vinegar?

[Beekissed]

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Now THAT would be a great science project!

Did it on rabbits, chickens and sheep....and it's been true for me each time. Some notable race horse breeders use it for the same reason.

I mainly use the unpastuerized ACV as a probiotic immune system booster, a source of potassium, calcium and Vit. C, and it improves the taste of my eggs.

 

[CSisley]

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Beekissed,

How much and how often do you use ACV in their water?

 

[Beekissed]

All the time and a couple of glugs....you see, you cannot overdose on ACV,but you can put so much in the water that they won't drink it. Just experiment around and see how much they will tolerate....any is better than none at all.

 

[CSisley]

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Thanks for the info. It took me a second to understand what you meant by "a couple of glugs" but I laughed when I got it. What kind of male to female ratio have you observed in your chicks when using ACV with the parents?

 

[Beekissed]

I've had hatches that were 8:1 male, 6:2 males, 4:0 males, etc. For the sheep, there was one male to 4 females. For the rabbits the female kits outnumbered the males by 8:2, 7:1, 5:3, etc. Always the females outnumbered the males by a large margin with the consistent use of the ACV.

 

[Tracydr]

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Oh, it makes mine worse. I think because it's so acidic. I can't drink it when my stomach is sour. Although mine is more gastritis than reflux so that might be the difference.
I use the ACV and kefir with chicks but not the adults. I have too many and go through too much water. Plus, I water from an open pan, since we are hot for so much of the year, I like them to be able to wade. I end up dumping many gallons of water twice a day and rinsing/refilling. I'd be wasting so much.

 

[Beekissed]

I use it for acid reflux as well....it's best if this isn't taken full strength and it still works effectively if diluted with water. It works almost immediately!

 

[Tracydr]

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Wow, when I start setting my OEGB eggs I'm going to have to try it!

 

[ChickenMack]

What great information! Thanks for this thread! I use Bragg's ACV all the time- my kids love it as salad dressing and I use it a Tbsp of ACV with one tsp of baking soda to neutralize my system when I have personally eaten too much sugar. Just sharing. But after reading this thread, my chickens will now get a glub of it in their water now.

 

[ejcimd]

Wow this is an amazing wealth of great info both for chicks and us.

Thank you!