ACV - how do you give it?

[Marigold]

The instructions on the bottle of my Apple Cider Vinegar, and also all the articles and posts I've read about it, suggest adding it to drinking water. Problem is, over 90% of it is then wasted when the water is changed, - good for the profits of the people selling it - but it also tends to make the drinkers feel slimy and promotes algae growth.

So I add smaller quantities undiluted to the chicken's food, especially in the winter when I'm giving them a warm mash every day anyway. It's all used up in a few minutes, no waste, nice and fresh. Does anyone else do this, or is there some reason I haven't thought of why it's best to give it in drinking water?

 

[chrismahon]

We add ours to the drinking water at 1%. If the drinkers are small enough they don't get changed, they just run out. All are different sizes for different coops with different numbers of occupants based on about 4 days supply in Summer. Very little gets wasted and we only put ACV in about 1 fill in 6 or about once a month.

 

[clucking chicks]

That sounds like a really good idea Marigold. I don't know how much the girls get because they usually manage to knock over the drinker with their great big muddy feet! It is all a bit hit and miss in our run.

Could I try adding it to a food they love, like stewed apple as we use pellets rather than mash?

 

[Chuck]

Although it's something I rarely give, I agree about the waste, especially if you use the bigger sizes of drinker, so putting it in mash which will still dilute it when mixed in seems like a good idea.

 

[Marigold]

Could I try adding it to a food they love, like stewed apple as we use pellets rather than mash?

I only use pellets, (which after all are only layers mash made into little bits,) and make their mash by just adding warm water, sometimes plus whatever treats or extras i have handy /think they might need, eg cod liver oil, chicken vits etc as well as ACV, (not all at the same time!) plus bits of chopped-up cabbage stalk, fruit peelings etc, a few mealworms and maybe a handful of chicken corn in winter. This is also a way of keeping them hydrated when the winter is really cold and the drinkers keep freezing up. So stewed apple would be fine, especially if mixed in with a mash that would help fill their crops before bedtime in winter, (or get them going in the morning after a long cold night.)

This has raised another question in my mind - how often do you/should you change the drinking water? I have a large 6-litre drinker, which left untouched would see my 4 hens through a week in an emergency. Actually I tip it sideways on the days when it's more than half full, to get rid of any water which might be a bit dirty round the rim, (and then the hens all drink this off the dirty ground, of course!) Then I change it (and clean the drinker thoroughly) when it's about half full, which is around every 3 days. Is this often enough? I have a feeling I should be doing it every day (and in winter this happens, because it freezes and gets changed for liquid water overnight) but if the water appears clean it just seems a bit unnecessary.

 

[bantiekeeper]

I put 2% ACV water in the run for a week, once a month.

 

[jubilee]

There are a few methods in using ACV, it depends on why you are giving it to your birds, if you're using it as a repellant for worms, you must feed it every day, it acts on the fact it changes the gut Ph to acidic, where worms don't like to be, and if it's not given in a maintainance dose, it simply won't work.
I have been using acv for many years with no ill effects, but it has to be said it is an astringent, although a natural product you can overdose with it causing liver problems, so it must be measured carefully. Using neat in feed i haven't tried, but as long as it's mixed thouroughly it shouldn't cause a problem when measured correctly.
The dose is as follows:-
To worm, for 7 days one week a month, = 25mls per litre of fresh water (large fowl) and 20mls per litre for bantams.
Maintainance dose for 3 weeks,= 15mls per litre of fresh water (large fowl) and 10mls for bantams.
To aid with coxy= 30mls per litre of fresh water for all birds, until a coxy medication such as coxoid or baycox can be administered.
Given everyday it is only like us taking a multi-vitamin, if you don't take it everyday, you won't have the benefit of it working properly. But as with most things, be careful to give the right dose.
As mentioned above, waste is down to the keeper, if you find that you are tipping alot of water and ACV down the drain each time, then use smaller drinkers. I have 12 paddocks, and various different bantam pens, and a 5litre tub of ACV lasts me a few months. I use it all the time. If your drinkers get slimey and green, move them to a shaded spot if possible to prevent this. And change the water daily. I change my water every two days, using fresh tap water, and mine don't get slimey!
I do welfare talks for Pets at Home and various other places, i have an ACV information leaflet, if anyopne would like one, please PM me your details, and i will post them a copy, or email them it. It contains all info on using ACV, and the dose instructions.

JubesXX

 

[chrismahon]

For measuring we draw it up into a very large syringe -50 or 60mL size which is accurate if your drinkers are filled to their marked capacity of course. Otherwise add measured ACV into a 1 litre measuring jug of water and then into drinker.

 

[Chuck]

Re. changing drinking water. I change it every two days unless it gets fouled as the drinkers are big enough to last four five or six days. Don't like leaving it longer to get stale but every two days does give me some flexibility in regard to the work load.

Good to see some accurate advice about dosage of Cider Vinegar.

 

[tygrysek75]

I would worry to put directly into the food as may be to concentrated for them in this form I have a small bottle with niple drinker which is higienic and do not get dirty so is until they finish this and they love it

 

[Marigold]

Has anyone wondered if they like it?
I've tried putting out 2 drinkers, one with a weak 'trial' solution of ACV, as recommended on the bottle until they get used to it, one just plain water, and guess which one is ignored?
I wouldn't want to restrict their water intake just because they didn't like the taste.

 

[wendywoggles]

We have a large 30l metal drinker so can't put the acv in there because of corrosion, so every morning for a week each month we put 5ml into the little red resevoir at the bottom the chooks drink from. I know it then gets diluted as the day goes on but can't think of another way to give it. I could get a plastic drinker but these chooks have cost us so much more than we expected that at the mo we can't do that.

 

[jubilee]

We have a large 30l metal drinker so can't put the acv in there because of corrosion, so every morning for a week each month we put 5ml into the little red resevoir at the bottom the chooks drink from. I know it then gets diluted as the day goes on but can't think of another way to give it. I could get a plastic drinker but these chooks have cost us so much more than we expected that at the mo we can't do that.

Love your username!! :lol:
Try using a cheap washing up bowl for dosing your ACV, it doesn't have to be expensive, just make sure you measure how much water it holds first, then dose accordingly.
We use washing up bowls in winter they aren't as brittle as the proper drinkers, and easier to empty on freezing days/nights, you can give them a bit more abuse without cracking them, and at most only cost £1.50 each from cheap hardware shops. If they are a bit 'round' and don't sit well, or the birds tip them easily, just dig a small indent in the ground to sit them it. This also works well for collinders with grit, they don't get knocked over, and any rain runs through and away keeping the grit from getting swamped.

JubesXX

 

[jubilee]

Has anyone wondered if they like it?
I've tried putting out 2 drinkers, one with a weak 'trial' solution of ACV, as recommended on the bottle until they get used to it, one just plain water, and guess which one is ignored?
I wouldn't want to restrict their water intake just because they didn't like the taste.

Marigold, they will always leave the medicated water if given a choice. But they still prefere to drink from muddy puddles too! I wouldn't worry too much, once they get used to the taste, they will drink it, i have never had a de-hydrated bird yet because it wouldn't drink the ACV water in five years.

JubesXX