Apple cider vinegar

Has anyone ever fed apple cider vinegar to their poultry in their water supply ? Supposed to be good for feather growth as an all-round tonic. Also is there any truth to this - that a hen that was hatched in an incubator as a chick will not go broody as an adult. Just thought I'd throw these two ideas out there and see what kind of response I get. Never too old to learn.

I have used it it seemed to help but I don't know if it really dose.

My incubator hatched silkies are just as good at being broodies and mothers as my hen raised silkies. My silkie hatched and raised Spitzhaubens never go broodie.
How about this one my grandmother taught me to never feed apples to chickens because it will slow down egg production?

I find when I put it in the water
my egg production goes up a bit.
I feed it to the goats and llama
also.

I put ACV in the chicken and turkey waterers at least once a week, or more. It helps them absorb calcium better and helps digestion. Certainly never hurts them you can put it in with their vitamins also.

I’ve been adding pure unfiltered ACV (with the mother) to my chicken’s waterers for a few years now. 1 Tbsp per 1 gallon of water. I believe it is a contributing factor of my flock’s overall good health, though should not be considered a cure-all by any means. I also take it in tonic form myself; 1 tsp in 1 cup of water every morning. But that’s a whole other topic…


I also want to comment on something gubi said. I give my flock sliced/diced up apples as a treat quite often, though never the core. (Apple seeds contain cyanogenic acid and should not be ingested by anyone.) My girls lay very well for their breed; on average 5x a week, some times more. When I had Australorps, those girls laid a big brown egg each and every single day. So in my limited experience, feeding apples/ACV does not slow down egg production. If anything, egg production seems improved. Maybe due to better calcium absorption? Also, I’ve never had an egg bound hen (knock on wood) or experienced any problems with prolapse, etc. Be it the ACV or just plain luck, I will continue to use ACV in their waterers.

Prairie chicken: I googled “apple cider vinegar benefits for poultry” and came up with a few links for your reading pleasure. You’ll see not everyone agrees with me.

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We use it. The male goats get it to help reduce the likelyhood of kidney stones. I would rather use vinegar than ammonium chloride added to their food.

My husband has a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar every day to help reduce cholesteral. I have no idea if it works; I think what's more likley is that he has it on salad and it's the greens that are doing the job

Apple cider vinegar will corrode metal waterers. Best used in plastic, glass or rubber.

As I understand ACV aids the absorption of calcium so aids with shell building as well as the calcium supplements that women take to maintain bone density. I won't hurt, that's for sure.

I have used ACV pure unfiltered for years now 1 teaspoon per litre of water for all my hatched chicks for the first 6 weeks and after that maybe 3 times a week to the flock at the same rate.

Flicker Chick wrote:I’ve been adding pure unfiltered ACV (with the mother) to my chicken’s waterers for a few years now. 1 Tbsp per 1 gallon of water. I believe it is a contributing factor of my flock’s overall good health, though should not be considered a cure-all by any means. I also take it in tonic form myself; 1 tsp in 1 cup of water every morning. But that’s a whole other topic…


I also want to comment on something gubi said. I give my flock sliced/diced up apples as a treat quite often, though never the core. (Apple seeds contain cyanogenic acid and should not be ingested by anyone.) My girls lay very well for their breed; on average 5x a week, some times more. When I had Australorps, those girls laid a big brown egg each and every single day. So in my limited experience, feeding apples/ACV does not slow down egg production. If anything, egg production seems improved. Maybe due to better calcium absorption? Also, I’ve never had an egg bound hen (knock on wood) or experienced any problems with prolapse, etc. Be it the ACV or just plain luck, I will continue to use ACV in their waterers.

Prairie chicken: I googled “apple cider vinegar benefits for poultry” and came up with a few links for your reading pleasure. You’ll see not everyone agrees with me.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I agree with you I have used it for years and years on both chickens and peafowl and guinea chicks for the first 6 weeks 1 teaspoon per litre and I also feed it to all my Parrots every day in the drinking water. I also some times ad it to water with Ionic silver and let a few bunches of Celery suck it up and then grind it up and the birds love it.

Yeah, ACV is real good stuff IMO. I’ve heard this silver mentioned before. Will have to look into it more.

And thanks for pointing out metal waterers and ACV don’t mix Uno. I mostly use plastic, so it often slips my mind to mention that.

Flicker Chick wrote:Yeah, ACV is real good stuff IMO. I’ve heard this silver mentioned before. Will have to look into it more.

And thanks for pointing out metal waterers and ACV don’t mix Uno. I mostly use plastic, so it often slips my mind to mention that.

I only use plastic waterers, thank you Uno