Vinegar on chickens

[GrannyFran]

I had heard that if you spray each new chicken you add to your flock with a mix of Vinegar and water the old chickens want peek the new comers. Is this true? Can a chicken smell?
Thanks for you help.

 

[LarryPQ]

Vinegar on chickens= pickled roosters!

I doubt it wil stop any pecking. I mean, they eat poop.

 

[debid]

People add vinegar to their chicken's water to make it more appealing. So no, that would not dissuade a chicken from pecking another chicken.

 

[elmo]

Of all a chicken's senses, its sense of smell is perhaps the weakest, its vision, the strongest. You're not going to fool a chicken into accepting a newcomer by spraying it with something to disguise its odor. Chickens recognize each other by sight.

And, by the way, I think people add some apple cider vinegar to water in order to try to control bacterial growth. I don't think chickens particularly like the taste of vinegar, and if you add too much it might discourage them from drinking it. That's what sometimes happens when you try to add vitamins or medications to the water.

 

[debid]

Quote:
I did a quick search and discovered that I read about using a little vinegar in their water to encourage drinking on this site, not in my "chicken bible". So, I take it back as I cannot cite a reputable source.

 

[almost a farm chic]

I read that adding a little apple cider vinegar to the water was a way to help the good bacteria in their systems thrive. (the kind that thrives in acidic conditions) I also read that chickens sense of smell and taste is not good but hearing and eyesight is excellent. So my guess would be that it wouldn't help? But I am a newbie at this.

 

[tiffanya]

I add apple cider vinegar to my chicken's water on occasion. I believe I read it in a magazine. They seem to like it! 1 tbsp. per gallon I believe. I'd have to look it up again for sure.