Apple cider vinegar has long been touted for its benefits to humans. Despite some misconceptions, incorporating raw apple cider vinegar into your diet has been shown to help in terms of blood sugar control, boosting weight loss and its antimicrobial properties. Some folks mix it with juice, some use it in salad dressing, and some even take shots of it!
You can find plenty of information on apple cider vinegar for humans, but can it help your birds too? Many backyard chicken keepers have wondered about the health benefits of apple cider vinegar when raising chickens. Can it really improve chicken health?
You bet it can! Our product, Mother Load, is apple cider vinegar infused with garlic for chickens. We call it “Mother” Load because it contains the mother, or the combination of yeast and gut friendly bacteria, within the vinegar.
When you add apple cider vinegar, especially with garlic, to your chickens’ water, you can expect several health benefits in your chicken coop. Mother Load keeps the digestive tract healthy, boosts the chicken’s immune system and balances the pH in birds’ guts.
Mother Load has acetic acid bacteria, which is a great tool to keep your chickens healthy. This helps food move through birds’ intestines and cuts through mucus. The insoluble fiber helps scrub bad bacteria out of your chickens’ guts, and less mucus means better nutrient uptake. As we like to say, this gives chickens clean guts and butts!
Mother Load is unpasteurised apple cider vinegar, which means it has a murky substance, or the “mother” in it. Since the “mother” is a probiotic, it fights harmful bacteria with beneficial bacteria. This helps your birds battle disease. You can expect your birds to have better health overall when you give them Mother Load!
So, why is Mother Load infused with garlic? Chickens love the taste of it, and it has antiviral properties! Chickens can get these benefits even if it’s not fresh garlic- they’ll notice the taste in just a few drops of Mother Load.
Is apple cider vinegar safe for chickens?
Did we mention that Mother Load has no harmful chemicals? The natural acids in this raw apple cider vinegar are plenty to boost the overall health- the only other thing you need is plain water! No nasty toxins necessary for a healthy flock.
Giving Mother Load to your birds is very simple. You just add it to your chickens’ water! First, shake the bottle well. The milky stuff at the bottom is the “mother,” so you want to get it good and incorporated. Then, apply 1 tablespoon of Mother Load per gallon in the waterers of your chicken coop.
Apply this once per week to your chickens’ waterer. If you have new chicks, run the vinegar days one and two, and then run it about once per week. ACV in chick water it totally safe and healthy for them. Get ready to boost your flock’s immune system! The benefits of apple cider vinegar on chicken health has been made very clear to us from the feedback we get from customers, which is really good news!
If you have any questions about Mother Load and its benefits for your pet chickens, email at Izy@SouthlandOrganics.com. Check out our other products for backyard chickens here!
Read on for even more information on apple cider vinegar in chick water and its benefits to chickens.
Apple Cider Vinegar and Chickens’ Health
Using Apple Cider Vinegar for chickens is not a new concept for many poultry farmers. In fact, it has been widely adopted into poultry programs for years. Apple Cider Vinegar, ACV, has numerous health benefits that have been generally accepted by industry professionals to help chickens’ bodies and health.
ACV for chickens offers immune support by attacking bad bacteria in the digestive tract, and contains the added benefits of vitamins, minerals and trace elements. It is an ideal addition to your poultry supplement program. But how does apple cider vinegar work inside the gut of a bird?
At Southland Organics, we decided to do some research and understand how apple cider vinegar actually helps your birds perform and tackle health issues. After much research, we have found a formula that maximizes the benefits of apple cider vinegar in poultry flocks. Our motivation is to help growers, so we have made it our goal to support chickens' health and give you a product that works.
We understand that the health of your birds has the single greatest impact on your coop. With the best specifications and premium quality, we created an all-natural supplement of apple cider vinegar for chickens. We believe using our ACV for your chickens will help you overcome the challenges of an antibiotic-free poultry environment.
During our research process, we uncovered many viable aspects to the combination of raw, 60-grain, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar. The most important was the processing, or lack of processing, that makes the best supplement. Apple cider vinegar is made through the fermentation of apples. Apples are full of vitamins, minerals and enzymes. These are concentrated and amplified even more through fermentation, making apple cider vinegar a great choice to improve chickens' health with an added boost to their immune system, helping them fight nasty diseases.
Also through the fermenting process, apple cider vinegar provides bacteria called Acetobacter. Acetobacter is classified as acetic acid bacteria. These powerhouse beneficial microbes support health and overall development, serving ultimately as an effective oxidizer and probiotic. Acetobacter is often viewed as a "mild antibiotic” and can protect from yeasts, bacteria and viruses. Adding apple cider vinegar to fresh water can reduce the risk of respiratory problems by killing bad bacteria and promoting healthy mucus flow.
Since apple cider vinegar is an acetic acid, its benefits can be misinterpreted by its acidity content. People can often use apple cider vinegar’s acidity to try and regulate bad bacteria in the gut. They think higher pH levels in the gut make it friendly for harmful pathogens. The assumption that apple cider vinegar will lower pH levels is just not true. Apple cider vinegar is a weak acid, and through a process called protonation, when you add ACV to drinking water you can actually raise the pH level.
It is the Acetobacter that makes all the difference. When the Acetobacter turns into acetic acid during the fermentation process, probiotic bacteria, known as the “Mother,” can be left floating around. The “Mother” can leave a cloudy appearance in the vinegar but it is actually the most beneficial part.
The mother indicates the evidence of the bacteria. The “Mother” of vinegar occurs naturally as the result of the Acetobacter. At first glance, this beneficial property makes the product look murky and unclean. The truth is that the mother is a cellulose byproduct of the fermentation process. Cellulose is similar to the cell structure of plants.
It is useful as a dietary fiber, giving extra support to bowel functions. However, most importantly, it is an indication of the presence of the beneficial microbes and enzymes acting as a probiotic within the gut.
We also concluded that adding garlic was an essential element. Crushed garlic releases an aromatic compound, allicin. Allicin is a proven antibacterial agent and is thought to have properties that can combat cocci. Using apple cider vinegar for coccidiosis treatment has not been proven to always be effective, but we have research to believe that it may help.
If you're wondering how to treat vent gleet naturally, apple cider vinegar may also be helpful. Many chicken keepers wonder- can chickens die from vent gleet? While vent gleet can be a fatal health issue, if treated quickly your birds will not die.
Apple cider vinegar may not do anything directly to help treat vent gleet. What it can do, however, is better prepare your birds to deal with stressors. This in turn makes birds less likely to face diseases. If a good gastrointestinal environment is already present, facing stress will not be as intense of an issue for birds.
The Perfect Addition to your Chicken Coop
What sets Mother Load apart is that it is specially formulated, packaged, and priced to be used in chicken coops. Our specifications include:
- 60-grain strength for maximum effectiveness and buffering pH levels
- Raw, unfiltered and unpasteurized so that the Acetobacter and mother are active
- Garlic added for antiviral properties and taste
Mother Load is the perfect additive to poultry drinking water. If you are searching for a complete supplement of apple cider vinegar for chickens, then Mother Load is your answer.
One question we come across frequently is, "How much apple cider vinegar do I put in my chickens' water?" For our Mother Load ACV + Garlic, it just takes one tablespoon per gallon of drinking water to deliver the health benefits to your flock.
Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar for Chickens
- Helps keep the chicken’s body in balance
- Boosts the immune system and digestive system
- Full of vitamins, minerals and trace elements
- Promotes healthy mucus flow
- Increases calcium absorption
- Tighter white caps on litter
- May assist with cocci attacks
- Reduces smell in poop
- Provides good bacteria that helps digestion
- Enzymes help break down minerals and fats
An extra benefit of apple cider vinegar is that it can prevent algae from forming in plastic waterers!
Benefits of Garlic
- Supports the immune system
- Reduces odors in chicken manure
- Antibacterial agent that can stop bacteria from growing, helping to protect from infections
- Helps underweight or non-eating chickens by stimulating the appetite
- Garlic contains allicin, which makes the chickens’ blood taste bad to mites
Apple Cider Vinegar is a Natural Remedy
Apple cider vinegar is one of the best remedies for chickens in poor health. Of course, if your chickens have extreme symptoms like respiratory problems, skin eruptions or diarrhea, take them to a vet immediately. But when chickens are mostly healthy but a bit lacking, then apple cider vinegar is the perfect way to give them an overall health boost.
One of the most appealing aspects of using mother vinegars in general is that it destroys germs that may be harmful to people and animals. This is true of apple cider vinegar too, which has a high concentration of acetic acid.
It should be noted that apple cider vinegar is not a cure for diseases. It just has many beneficial properties that can make chickens more ready to fight disease:
Better Immunity
You can use apple cider vinegar to help keep your birds safe. Even though it's simple, a boost to the immune system can do wonders when it comes down to avoiding the impacts of disease.
Improved Digestion
Apple cider vinegar is important for pH levels and can help with digestion. It cuts through mucus in the birds’ gut, helping ensure that guts are cleared out and eggs are clean! That’s why we like to say Mother Load gives chickens “clean guts and butts.” A clean gut also means chickens can then absorb nutrients better!
Worm Control
In addition to these valuable wellness benefits, apple cider vinegar for chickens is often used in an effort to prevent worms. Some worms can attack a chicken and cause it to become vulnerable rapidly. Apple Cider Vinegar’s low pH destroys germs and worms. Because an acidic pH level in chickens' lower stomach raises barriers throughout their bodies, many parasites are driven out!
How to use apple cider vinegar for healthy chickens
Another question we get is "how much apple cider vinegar should I put in my chickens water?" Apple cider vinegar is a cost-effective way to boost your flock’s health. To use it for healthy chickens, chicken owners can simply add about one tablespoon per gallon in a coop’s waterer. Adding ACV is an easy addition to a flock’s diet for good health and boosted immune systems.
By adding ACV just once a week, chicken owners can support healthy chickens without breaking the bank.
It’s especially nice for egg production in laying hens since it clears out the gut so they can produce clean eggs. Baby chicks benefit too because it sets them off on the right path to healthy digestion.
All in all, adding our Mother Load combination apple cider vinegar to your flock's water is a great, natural and cost-effective way to boost their health!
See for yourself! Buy Mother Load here.
