I don't like all the -otics and -lytes added to water either. I figure chicks (and chickens) wouldn't be healthy if all those things weren't in balance already, so why would I give healthy birds more of what they don't really need and risk throwing that balance off? Even most of the packages say that they are for short term use in ill, stressed, or injured birds only, and that clean, fresh additive free water should be available at the same time. I wouldn't give my grandkids gallons of Gatoraid or Pediolyte just in case they get sick, but I do go out and get it if they need it, just for as long as they need it. So that's my theory and I'm sticking to it!
You'll also hear lots about people adding ACV (apple cider vinegar, with the mother) added to the water to keep birds healthy. Well, I did too, when I first started. Then one day I ran out of it, and doggone it, I kept forgetting to get more. I'd get home from shopping, go out to feed and gather eggs, and smack my forehead because I'd forgotten the vinegar again. Guess what happened to my flock. Not a darned thing! They were still healthy with glossy feathers, no internal parasites, great egg production, and while I have no proof I think personally that their egg shells were a little more consistent in quality and hardness. Folks also say that it keeps their waterers cleaner of algae. That may be, but I'd rather spend one day a week cleaning the waterers and making sure they were ready to go than not check them because I have some false sense of security about vinegar taking care of it for me so I could extend the time between cleanings. Besides, all the fol-de-rol of the right amounts of this or that just complicate chicken keeping, and I'm lazy enough to always find the way to do things that makes the best use of my time.
It's all personal choice, when you get down to it. If it makes a person feel like they are doing more for their flock and being better managers, great. We all have our own styles and beliefs. Mine are often considered wacky and skewed, but my healthy flocks haven't seemed to mind one bit.
WELCOME TO BYC!! Where people are smart but the chickens are too often smarter!
