Chicks won't drink the ACV water??

[CluckyCharms]

Hi,

My order of bragg finally arrived, but the chicks aren't drinking their water with it in there...I thought it would be easy since everyone else (I think?) gives this to their chicks and chickens? Why won't they drink the water now??

Waterer is quart-size (brooder size) so I put 1 teaspoon in there after it was full.

Thanks

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Assuming you dipped their beaks in it to show them where the water is, when they are thirsty, they will drink it. They may still be living on yokes and don't need the water yet. I would get worried if not drinking by tomorrow evening. I use about 3-4 TBSP per gallon in my waterers.

 

[CluckyCharms]

Thank you. They are actually about 10 days old now though, they know where the waterer is at and they usually gulp it down like they just ate a jalapeno or something. Ever since I put the acv in there, they won't touch it. They go near it, stick their beak close to the surface and walk off. And...going by your measurements that would mean I should put a tablespoon per quart (about)....instead of a teaspoon. If they won't go anywhere near it now, I don't think adding more will help. lol This just doesn't make any sense to me. Everyone gives their chickens acv in the water, or so I'm reading. Why do my chicks have to be the difficult ones??

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

I have a hard time with the concentration of 1 tsp or TBSP in a quart being enough for them to even really taste, since they only have like 50 tastebuds. Got me stumped on this one. I also only do the ACV in every other filling of the waterers. Don't ask me if there is any reason for it, I just do.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Is your waterer a metal or plastic one. Can't use ACV in the metal ones. Corrodes really fast.

 

[CluckyCharms]

Sorry, went away for a bit to dip their beaks in it (that just got me pecked a whole lot). The waterer is a quart-size plastic one. It has an opaque/transparent upper chamber where the water goes and the actual dish is red (both parts are plastic).

Your statement is exactly what my first thought was. There is 1 (literally, I measured it) teaspoon (Tsp not TBSP) in there... I can hardly see why there would be any reason for not drinking it??

Is there any possibility that the ACV could be rotten or bad? There was a seal when I opened it (broke the seal when I opened it). Should I order another one to see if that's a problem? Do you know what to look for in ACV that may be an indicator of rotten? Ugh this just makes ZERO sense to me.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Is it the unfiltered, unpasturized kind with the "mother" in it? And I don't know how to tell if it goes bad, it stinks no matter what to me. Haha

 

[CluckyCharms]

Yes, it is all of that. I went ahead and dumped it all out and refilled it with plain water and they're drinking that just fine. Confounded chicks

[Edit] The thought just now occurred to me that maybe I have been spoiling them too much. I mixed yogurt and watermelon with their water yesterday and shook it until it was sort of juicy. I let it trickle down into the tray and they attacked it all day like a bunch of puppies. It wasn't that much yogurt - a tablespoon if that, and a few chunks of watermelon. Maybe they didn't drink the acv water because I did that, so they wanted it again?? That still doesn't explain why they don't mind plain ol' water. They're drinking that just fine - no problems. Their poopies are all normal too, so I'm pretty sure I didn't overdo it yesterday. Gah...I'll try again with another bottle tomorrow. I still have eggs that are acting like they're going to hatch (the only reason why I'm not in bed when I should be).

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

They are weird creatures. Just when I think I have them figured out, bam, they do something that throws me for a loop. Maybe try again with a new bottle of ACV.

 

[ChickenWaterer]

Chickens will sometimes not drink water if they detect an off flavor. I don't think I would stand on ceremony about this. If they wont drink water with ACV, then lose the ACV. It's better to have them fully hydrated. You can always try adding ACV back at a later date.