Apple Cider Vinegar In Water

[Lizzy733]

I've always added a splash with no ill effects; do note vinegar does not react well with metal - if you intend to offer this, it should be from an all plastic container only.

It's essentially an overfermented beverage in the same vein as kombucha. Vinegar in general will reduce some bacteria growth and I can say things don't tend to grow in my waterers when they are left out . For the chickens, small amounts can't be harmful and raw vinegars that haven't been pasteurized still contain much of the 'good stuff' - scoby residue - made of clumped bacteria and yeast(the boogery stuff...) and the resultant vitamins and organic acids from digesting sugars in the apple.

I've not noticed any issues with shell quality in my flock that could be attributed to ACV, but too much of anything can be a bad thing, so a splash or cap full for a large waterer is probably plenty and can just be offered as a treat or warm weather booster.
Brewing your own fermented beverages can be addictive too - if we had an apple tree, I'd definitely start my own culture from a store-bought one.

 

[Willowspirit]

If you do offer acv, please also offer fresh water separately. There’s no real shortcut from scrubbing those waterers.

 

[ChickenWaterer]

Is it true that it helps chickens to put some of this vinegar in their water?

There's no real evidence that it apple cider vinegar benefits people or chickens (there are plenty of internet claims for both). I wrote a blog article on this subject several years ago if you are interested:
http://blog.chickenwaterer.com/2012/12/dont-use-apple-cider-vinegar-acv-in.html

One thing I didn't mention in the posting and that is worth stating here.... adding vinegar to the water if you are using a galvanized metal waterer is downright harmful. The acid in the vinegar causes heavy metals (Zinc) to leach into the water. This is bad for chickens and bad for humans that eat the eggs.

 

[Claires Poultry]

I've heard and read that adding ACV to their water boosts their immune system and helps reduce stress. It also helps keep algae from growing in waterers. I add it to my bird's water occasionally.

 

[ChickenWaterer]

I add raw apple cider vinegar to my waterers. It has helped with algae and gunk build up.

On the face of it, it makes sense since vinegar is acidic and algae may not be able to grow in water below a certain Ph (measure of acidity). You've got me curious about this and I may try to do an experiment to better understand this. If I do some research, I'll post it here.

 

[aart]

On the face of it, it makes sense since vinegar is acidic and algae may not be able to grow in water below a certain Ph

Yeah, but not great for the birds....and....

There’s no real shortcut from scrubbing those waterers.

 

[Folly's place]

The pH of drinking water varies depending on it's source, so changing it's pH by adding vinegar makes no sense, and a tiny amount in several gallons of water will be irrelevant.
Some bacteria dislike acid water, and so might your chickens, if it actually has that low a pH. And, in small quantities, vinegar isn't bactericidal.
I use vinegar in cooking, and white vinegar as part of window cleaning, and keep it out of the chicken coop.
Is a small amount harmful, likely not. But why bother?
Mary

 

[ChickenWaterer]

Windowspirit and aart, I agree with you both on this. One has to clean the waterer periodically to eliminate both algae and biofilm and that overly acidic water is unhealthy for chickens. The question I'm asking is....How acidic does the water have to be to significantly impact algae growth and is that level of acidity both safe and palatable for chickens? I suspect that it's going to take a lot of vinegar to impact algae growth and that the level of acid will be too high. However, this can be tested with a simple experiment to measure algae growth at various Ph levels.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

I was reading another thread today that talked about using garlic and apple cider vinegar. You have explained the apple cider vinegar reasoning. Does anyone know why you would add garlic to the chicken water?

 

[Folly's place]

I have no idea!
Garlic and vinegar seem to be 'in style' with some folks on the Internet, with no actual science to back up any claims they may make.
Here, both items stay in my kitchen, where they are very much enjoyed, by us.
Mary