What to keep in stock for poultry keeping - A list
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runningbeat
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I found it interesting for chickens to drink apple cider vinegar for worms.
My husband has been drinking it every morning for at least 15 years.
How often should a person give this to the chickens? How much do you add to their water? I know their is cheap vinegar, and than the good stuff with lots of sedament at the bottom, which is the good stuff. Does it matter if its the cheaper version? Thanks
My husband has been drinking it every morning for at least 15 years.
How often should a person give this to the chickens? How much do you add to their water? I know their is cheap vinegar, and than the good stuff with lots of sedament at the bottom, which is the good stuff. Does it matter if its the cheaper version? Thanks
Apple cider vinegar is different from ordinary malt or wine vinegar, and also for chickens its different from the over-refined culinary version you can buy in supermarkets. If you want to use it you need t get it from an agricultural store. Beware, though - it may help to tone up the chickens gut, but is totally ineffective at killing and controlling worms. For this you need to dose them with Flubenvet, every 6 months. Also, be very careful not to use too much ACV in their water - they really dont like the taste, and actually many experienced poultry keepers no longer use it because the birds tend to only drink the minimum, which is not good for them.
There are many poultry vitamins and tonics available, some for adding to water such as Lifeguard, some come as powder or granules to add to feed. If you want to give ACV or other liquid tonics, another way to do it is to mix a drop or two into the water you use to create a damp crumbly mash as a treat in winter. This is more economical as if you add it to the drinker most of it gets wasted when you change the water. Also they get to drink plain water in their drinker, which they prefer.
There are many poultry vitamins and tonics available, some for adding to water such as Lifeguard, some come as powder or granules to add to feed. If you want to give ACV or other liquid tonics, another way to do it is to mix a drop or two into the water you use to create a damp crumbly mash as a treat in winter. This is more economical as if you add it to the drinker most of it gets wasted when you change the water. Also they get to drink plain water in their drinker, which they prefer.
chrismahon
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Hi Runningbeat. Problem is to kill worms you need to add so much ACV that the chickens won't drink the water. 3% is reported to control coccidiosis and kill worms but at that is so acidic it is unpalatable. We used 1% for a week every month. We did see worms shed as a result, which means they needed worming properly with Flubenvet. We tried using it all the time but the cost was too much and I couldn't see any benefit. We did experiment and only got to 1 1/2 % before they stopped drinking. Obviously that's far more serious than worms! We now just make sure they get some fresh veg or fruit every day to supplement their feed pellet diet. The ACV is still in the bottle in the UK.
Poultryman
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Nice list you have their. I think an antibiotic should also be kept for emergencies, especially when there is an outbreak of viral diseases.
chrismahon
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Unfortunately you can't get antibiotics without prescription in the UK Poultryman. So only a vet can give them and it will only be enough for the specific treatment. They don't treat viral diseases of course, only the secondary bacterial infections, so they are often used in those cases just to assist the bird to recover.
Not unfortunate at all, Chris. The over- use of antibiotics is a real problem which may lead to their becoming ineffective as bacteria become resistant to them, then none of us will be able to use them for human health, never mind the poultry. Keeping antibiotics in stock 'just in case,' and without veterinary prescription is extremely dangerous. In fact, giving antibiotics at all to chickens is not really a good idea under any circumstances. If a bird is ill enough to need them, culling is preferable, in the interests of the health and strength of the rest of the flock, as well as the wider medical issues.
A really useful list, thank you! By the way we had our first egg today!
I'm finding it difficult to find things on the website, so I just read random articles. I must be doing something wrong? How do you find replies posted after your own post, for example?
I'm finding it difficult to find things on the website, so I just read random articles. I must be doing something wrong? How do you find replies posted after your own post, for example?
Go to the Board Index page, and then click on Unread Posts link on the line above the main menus. This will give you links to any unread posts from all the sections.
There's also a New Posts link, but this is refreshed every hour or so and isn't so reliable because you may miss new posts which have been moved over to Unread Posts.
Congratulations about the egg, what a lovely present! Who is having it for breakfast?
There's also a New Posts link, but this is refreshed every hour or so and isn't so reliable because you may miss new posts which have been moved over to Unread Posts.
Congratulations about the egg, what a lovely present! Who is having it for breakfast?
