Skip to main content

ACV, Water, and Chickens' Health

Those of us who try to stay organic and antibiotic-free as much as possible when raising chickens rely on Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) for cleaning as well as a nutrient supplement for chicks and chickens.  A wonderful article that has the research compiled as an easy to understand resource is "Apple Cider Vinegar: are the benefits for chickens as valuable as people claim."

After reading the article, if you decide that you too want to use ACV for your chickens, the next question is how to convert the dosage from UK in to US. The quanity amounts recommended are in metric/litre and for those of us in the US, well, we are the ounces, quarts and gallons type of measurers.  So the amount for young chicks at 0.5% of ACV to water (in plastic or ceramic containers - not metal or galvanized) is about 1 teaspoon of ACV per quart of water and to be added to the water for about one week per month. 

As the chicks grow (about six to eight+ weeks of age), using 1% ACV, you might increase it to 2 teaspoons of ACV per quart of water or a little under three tablespoons of ACV per gallon of water. 

For adult chickens, (after 15 to 20 weeks of age) and using 2% ACV, you can increase it to 3.75 teaspoons of ACV per quart of water or 5 tablespoons of ACV per gallon of water.  Again, never add ACV to water in metal containers of any kind.  

As mentioned in the article, the Apple Cider Vinegar needs to have the mother, whether that is homemade Apple Cider Vinegar or Bragg's Organic Apple Cider Vinegar that still has that cloudy appearance and some of the mother in the bottle.  Apple Cider Vinegar that is not cloudy is pasteurized, and the nutrients of the mother are missing.  It's still tastes about the same, but pasteurized ACV is missing that important nutrient component when it was bottled. 

Now that you know the type and the dosage of ACV, you might want some clarification about how often to use ACV in your chickens' water. The recommendation is to use it in their water for one week, then switch back to clear water for three or four weeks before adding ACV to their water again. They do not need ACV in their water all the time, and mostly what they need is clear fresh room temperature water. Not too warm. 

Young chicks need water temps a about 77°F (25°C). This is considered to be an ideal water temperature for chicks to help them survive (based on research), while pullets older than 6 weeks and adult chickens do better on cooler water at about 55°F (12°C). Chickens of all ages are hesitant to drink water that is more than 85°F (30°C).  Regardless of outdoor temps, if the water is too warm chickens won't drink it, adding to dehydration symptoms. 

If you are using city/chlorinated water, you may want to consider "resting" it for a day in an open bucket or spare container before giving it to your chicks or chickens. But those are subjects for another day. 

Make your own ACV! 

DIY Apple Cider Vinegar - image from reusegrowenjoy.com


Resources: 

https://www.raising-happy-chickens.com/

https://reusegrowenjoy.com/

https://afs.ca.uky.edu/poultry/chapter-12-water-temperature

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Summer 2022 Batch

This summer, we pre-ordered 20 chicks with 15 of those chicks being a "mystery" from the hatchery. We think we have the mystery chicks all identified. Rhode Island Reds, Barred Plymouth Rock, and Golden Comets. The hope is to sell most of these before needing to merge them into the flock. However, if we need to merge in order to winter over until they start laying in January, we can do that. We have done it before and have plenty of room in the main coop. 
Post a Comment
Read more

FAQs - Why We Brood Chicks

Why do you Brood Chicks?  We enjoy it. We watch over the chicks, ensuring to protect them from Predators like rodents and mites, and from other dangerous events such as Brooder Fires (caused by improper use of heaters/heat lamps), illness such as Pasty Butt or Dehydration, other health conditions such as Splayed Leg or Impacted Crop, and generally to attempt to get them started with a healthy organic life.  How Many Chicks do you Raise per Year? Actually, not very many compared to most poultry farms that raise hundreds. We typically raise no more than 25 in a batch and we start about three to four batches per year. At most, we brood 100 broiler and layer chicks per year. Some of them we keep but most of them are sold.  Why Organic?  We have found that Organic Raised Layers and Broilers produce the best tasting Eggs and Meat! We can tell the difference in the flavor of the eggs, and so can others who eat our Hens' Eggs.  Also, the Meat is very tender with very li...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ducks for a Change

We ordered Ducks this year for eggs and for sale. We are hoping to keep four Runner Duck Hens for ourselves, and selling the other four.  They are adorable. I had never held newly hatched ducklings and didn't realize that their down is more like holding a brush. Duck down is stiffer than the chick down. Also, they are a lot messier than chicks. Who Knew? 
Post a Comment
Read more