Apple cider vinegar, anyone?

[KByrne]

Okay, I'm admittedly just a little late to the ACV altar. What I want to know is how many of you EXPERIENCED chicken parents actually use it with your fowl, and how confident are you in its reported benefits? Thanks in advance!

 

[nep big red]

Okay, I'm admittedly just a little late to the ACV altar. What I want to know is how many of you EXPERIENCED chicken parents actually use it with your fowl, and how confident are you in its reported benefits? Thanks in advance!

I learned about ACV the first year I had chickens (4 years ago) and have given my girls ACV ever since.
I haven’t had any girls get sick until this year. She was lethargic and stayed in the coop during the day (her choice) for a couple of days. That was about a week ago. Yesterday she was back to about 75%.
I have 2 of the chick waterers that I use for the ACV water mix. I fill them every evening. If I see they both have about half, I’ll usually pour those in one & put fresh in the other. I only allow the older batch one day. I’d rather have them have fresh.
My girls love the refills - they flock to them every night when I put them back in their coop. Also, when I have one that’s maybe a quarter full, I’ll dump that on the ground & they love that.
I recommend it to everyone I talk to and let them know I feel it keeps them healthier.

 

[kerbotx]

I neither use it, nor believe it has any benefits, with or without the mother, that cannot be better achieved through fermented feed. Everyone's mileage may vary, if you find something that works for you, keep doing it!

 

[Kiki]

Giving your birds apple cider vinegar daily is not going to do a thing for them.
And it can actually hurt laying birds because it inhibits the absorption of calcium.

 

[KByrne]

I neither use it, nor believe it has any benefits, with or without the mother, that cannot be better achieved through fermented feed. Everyone's mileage may vary, if you find something that works for you, keep doing it!

Thanks for the reply. Had I taken the time to delve deeper into the threads prior to posting this question I would have seen enough arguments for, against, and neutral to come to the same conclusion.

 

[nuthatched]

Only the raw, good acv with the mother has any benefits but it appears that the concentration has much to do with how beneficial it is. And to gain the touted benefits from it, the concentration would be so high that most chickens won't touch it so they dehydrate.
I have very little confidence that it's a silver bullet for health and believe that while, it probably won't hurt chickens, though there are quite a few cons (it can interfere with calcium and potassium absorption) it won't help them much either.
The prebiotic and probiotics benefits are small.
It won't prevent or treat anything illness or parasites. There are better ways to give chickens prebiotics and probiotics like with good yoghurt or feed fermentation.
If you do use it as a supplement, only use it sparingly, not all the time, supplements should not be given more than 10 days in a row. Always provide plain water alongside.

 

[topochico225]

I don’t use it. I did when I was starting out and my girls got diarrhea every time they were given ACV water, so I stopped. They’re perfectly fine now.

 

[coach723]

I use white vinegar for cleaning, I don't give my birds anything in their water, just fresh, clean water. Tried ACV many, many years ago since so many were touting the benefits. Never saw any benefit, it made my waterers slimy (perhaps due to my well water), and birds did not seem to like it. Maybe I had picky birds. But being in Florida with so much heat and humidity I don't want anything putting my birds off water for any amount of time, for any reason. Whether it does anything or not is debatable, I never saw any benefit. Many of the claims are just false, it doesn't treat or prevent worms, etc. So for me, it's a nope.

 

[AGeese]

I used it for a short time with my day olds. Just a drop or two in their water. They didn't seem to care. They're half grown now.

 

[aart]

Tried ACV many, many years ago since so many were touting the benefits.

Myths die hard, eh?