So, what are the benefits of apple cider vinegar for chicken health? At first, I didn’t understand what apple cider vinegar does to chickens health until after consulting a friend. At the time of the consultation, I did not have any idea how it worked. But after giving my birds for a while, I realized that it improved their health dramatically. Since then, I have made it a habit of giving it to my chickens each month.
Apple cider vinegar is an acetic acid that comes with many benefits to the overall well-being of chickens. It can be purchased in many grocery stores. Some of these benefits include respiratory problems, preventing heat stress, relieving pain, treating diarrhea, treatment for lice and mites, keeping water fresh and many more.
When it comes to taking care of your birds, you need to find the best way of keeping them healthy. Although this can be a nerve-wracking affair, your determination to keep your birds healthy will not be in vain. And the best way of achieving this goal is by providing your chickens with apple cider vinegar.
Perhaps you could be wondering if this strange substance is safe for your birds. Your doubt is as good as anyone else’s who’s trying to give ACV to their flock. To erase your doubts, the use of ACV on a regular basis is not only safe, but it’s good news for your feathered friends.
To make you understand how this product works, I have compiled a list of its benefits for your chickens’ health. Read on to get a clear insight into the great benefits of apple cider vinegar.
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Top | Lucy's Family Owned - Apple Cider Vinegar | Check Price |
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What are the Uses For Apple Cider Vinegar to the Chicken Health?
Apple Cider Vinegar is a Natural Disinfectant
In the same way, you would wish your surfaces at home to be disinfected, so do your chicken coop. You can carry out this task during the spring cleaning of your chicken house.
Add a few teaspoons to the sprayer to help you eliminate germs and cut grime. Dilute it as instructed by the manufacturer before using it around your chicken coop.
Apple Cider Vinegar Controls Mites and Lice
In most cases, chickens act as hosts to mites and lice. This is a worrying trend, especially if you have a large flock of chickens.
These parasites can cause diseases to your chickens and even infest your entire home. Before this happens, you need to find a working solution in time. The best solution, however, is the use of apple cider vinegar.
The solution of ACV and a gallon of water is known for its ability to control mites and lice among your flock. As such, you should administer a dose of ACV to your flock if you spot mites and lice around them.
Place a small amount of vinegar and warm water in a sprayer to make a powerful solution that will kill mites and lice instantly. You may also add a tablespoon (plus a little bit) of ACV to a litre of water to effectively eliminate these little critters. All it takes is a trace element or tablespoon ACV to do the job.
Apple Cider Vinegar Prevent Controls Worms
Worms are some of the dangerous internal parasites that can render your chickens helpless in a matter of days. If you don’t take drastic measures in time you may end up losing part of your flock.
Therefore, the best thing and easiest way is to use apple cider vinegar for the prevention of worms in your chickens. The low pH in ACV is responsible for killing worms. This is because the low pH level creates a hostile environment in the chicken’s lower gut, thus eliminating worms.
Apple Cider Vinegar Keeps Water Fresh
A simple way of keeping water fresh is by adding natural apple cider vinegar to the water. Just add one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to your chickens’ plastic waterer before they can drink it.
The low pH in this product plays a critical role in killing harmful bad bacteria. This means you can use it to control gunk and algae in the chickens waterer.
Most of the expert chicken owners in raising chickens suggest that a 2 percent ACV is ideal to make water fresh throughout. But before you even add ACV to the water, take a moment to check the waterer.
Vinegar is notorious in corroding metals. If your waterer is metallic, then you should not use it to hold a solution of water and ACV. Instead, use another container that is not made of metal such as a plastic drinker or plastic waterer.
Apple Cider Vinegar Kills Bad Smell
It is a fact that chickens stink sometimes. You may have noticed it or simply got used to the smell. But if you feel that the smell is getting out of hand, you may turn to ACV for a quick solution.
Use a spray bottle to control the bad smell in the chicken coop. Empty chicken feed containers and spray them before filling. A few sprays around the coop will freshen up the coop for a while. This spray will get rid of odor in the coop, creating a conducive environment for you or your visitors.
Sometimes you can spray your chicken house using ACV instead of cleaning it. Doing so will save you time and effort you would have spent keeping the coop clean.
Apple Cider Vinegar is Rich in Vitamins and Minerals
Besides controlling worms and killing external parasites, ACV is a rich source of vitamins and minerals. It’s also a mild antibiotic. It can enhance the chicken’s good bacteria. All these are essential nutrients for maintaining your chickens’ good health.
Look for raw apple cider vinegar that has been organically produced, make sure that it does not have preservatives, colorings, or additives. These ingredients are harmful to your birds.
Apple Cider Vinegar is an Effective Stress Reliever
Don’t be surprised to learn that your chickens become stressed at some point. Since they are animals just like humans, they too experience moments of tension, depression, and times of stress.
This is a great way to make them comfortable when they are stressed, you can provide them with apple cider vinegar.
Stress is a serious issue that can affect your chicken’s immune system. Once their immune system is compromised, they can become ill or susceptible to infections.
Apple Cider Vinegar Can Treat Diarrhoea
If you notice that your birds are showing symptoms of diarrhea, you should feed them ACV. But this should only happen after ruling out the possibility of having worms or having contracted the deadly coccidiosis.
In this case, add one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to the drinking water. The resulting solution will stop diarrhea and kill any dangerous bacteria that normally builds up in the drinkers.
Apple Cider Vinegar Regulates the Body’s pH
Animals have a profound complex balancing of vitamins, minerals, and chemicals to keep their bodies balanced. This means that most animal bodies need to be slightly alkaline with a pH ranging from 7.3 to 7.4. This range applies to your chickens’ bodies as well.
Since ACV has an alkalizing effect, it will help create some balance in your chicken’s body. Take note that if the chicken’s body becomes too acidic, it will not feel well.
As a matter of fact, it will become vulnerable to different kinds of infections. So, ACV will help keep your bird’s health in balance by simply regulating the pH in the body. With the pH in balance, everything else will run smoothly.
Apple Cider Vinegar Can Boosts the Immune System
Most poultry keepers greatest responsibilities should be to keep their chickens healthy. As you may have realized, if one bird becomes sick it can spread the disease to the rest. You can prevent the spread of diseases among your flock by boosting their immune system.
One of the effective ways to achieve this feat is to provide your chickens with apple cider vinegar in their diet. The ACV will help in maintaining their bodies in a more alkaline state than the acidic one. As a result, their bodies will be in a better position to fight diseases or infections.
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Related Questions
When should you add apple cider vinegar to your birds’ drinking water? You can add a few quantities of ACV to the water when relocating your chickens, when integrating a new bird with your existing flock and when your birds are showing signs of illness. All these are factors that should compel you to provide apple cider vinegar to your flock of birds.
How do you dilute your apple cider vinegar? First of all, you need to add fresh clean water to the apple cider vinegar. This should be in a ratio of 2 percent which translates to about 20 milliliters to every 1000milliliters (1 liter) of water. These quantities will give you the right solution for your birds to drink. But bear in mind that since ACV is acidic, you need to avoid using galvanized drinkers because it will corrode them. It is safe to use plastic containers or plastic drinkers when mixing apple cider vinegar with the chicken’s drinking water.
In Conclusion
Boosting your chickens’ healthy with apple cider vinegar is not a bad idea at all. This is due to the fact that ACV is affordable and holistic. But keep in mind that this solution is not the ultimate when it comes to different ailments. Instead, it helps in keeping the coop clean, eliminating parasites and keeping water fresh among other uses. This calls for caution when looking for information about ACV from different sources. Regardless, apple cider vinegar is beneficial to the well-being of your flock.
Below is a Pinterest friendly photo…. so you can pin it to your Backyard Chicken Board!!
