ACV

[Iva S.]

I want to start putting apple cider vinegar in my chickens’ water (I have a plastic waterer) and I’ve been reading that I need to put organic acv in there, but I have the one in the picture. Is that okay?

 

[RonP]

You really want ACV with the "mother". It will say so on the bottle.

 

[Iva S.]

You really want ACV with the "mother". It will say so on the bottle.

But can I give them this until the bottle is finished and then buy the one with the “mother”?

 

[RonP]

Sure, it won't hurt, but it will not have the benefits that you are expecting from ACV.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

To much ACV will leach the calcium out of the feed and maybe even the bones of your laying flock. This could result in soft shelled eggs.

What are the benefits that you are expecting to get from ACV?

All vinegar is produced by exposing wine, beer, or a mixture of grain alcohol and water to oxygen.

 

[Iva S.]

To much ACV will leach the calcium out of the feed and maybe even the bones of your laying flock. This could result in soft shelled eggs.

What are the benefits that you are expecting to get from ACV?

All vinegar is produced by exposing wine, beer, or a mixture of grain alcohol and water to oxygen.

The benefits I’m expecting are that it helps deter mites, keep algae levels down in the waterer, and I’ve read it gets worms to get out of the chicken (don’t know if that’s true)

 

[chickengeorgeto]

It normally requires 2.5% acidity to keep pickled cucumbers or other vegetables from spoiling or growing algae or mold. This is without taking into account boiling your vinegar/water mixture and adding large amounts of salt along with either refrigeration or hot bath canning. Now I realize that you are not attempting to "Preserve" your chickens water but the amount of vinegar i'v seen recommended to add to a chicken fountain to hold down algae will be less than useless.

I highly doubt that vinegar will dissuade either mites or worms from snacking on your chickens. That is the first time that I have heard that. However those chickens belong to you and you paid good money for them so by all means do as you see fit.

"Organic" in this context refers to vinegar that has a colony of bacteria or a mother growing in it that may or may not be teeming with tiny vinegar worms.

 

[Folly's place]

There's no actual evidence that vinegar will do anything for your birds, except flavor their water a bit. Probably no harm in it, but useless. Mary

 

[Trouble#1]

Will ACV go bad if left in the water container to long? I am a beginner with chickens and have seen ACV is beneficial to chickens health if not it wont harm them to try and I want nothing but the best for my new feathered friends, but am worried it will go bad if left to long in the container (plastic). I don't want to hurt them in anyway.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

If you are concerned about ACV going bad, ask yourself if tap water (that is treated with Chlorine to kill mold, bacteria, fungi, and all sorts of other germs goes bad if left out in the open too long. Of course tap water reverts to it's natural nasty state if left open too long say in your chickens drinking fountain BTW, Chlorine is a much more effective sterilizer than any vinegar known to man or beast but its health benefits are fleeting and ACV or any other flavor of vinegar's heath benefits will prove to be just as fleeting if not more so. Go to your refrigerator and look at a jar of pickles and see it the label on that jar of pickles doesn't say "REFRIGERATE AFTER OPENING" Now ask yourself why is that, if Vinegar is such a perfectly healthy preservative?

There is even a good argument for adding Roundup to your chickens water because all vinegar is an effective herbicide the same as Roundup is an effective herbicide.