As a General Tonic for chickens:
Dilute 10:1 - 10 parts fresh clean water to 1 part Apple Cider Vinegar.
The recommendation is that you need to find "unfiltered", "raw', "unpasteurised" Apple Cider Vinegar, which can be found in poultry or pet shops. Apparently the filtereed Apple Cider Vinegar you find in the supermarket is not ok becasue it is filtered - but I have not yet checked out the price difference.
It may be that once it is a "tonic" the price goes up!
Apple Cider Vinegar contains all the vitamins, minerals and trace elements found in apples.
Specifically these include:
-
- Vitamins
A,C,E,B1, B2, B6
- Vitamins
-
- Minerals
Potassium
Sulphur
Phosphorous
Iron
Silicon
- Minerals
- plus many other beneficial chemicals.
Used to assist in fighting off infections, aid digestion, deter internal paracites.
Warning - it is not a substitue for an effective wormer.
Do not put it into metal drinking containers. Plastic is ok.
How it is supposed to works
- it slighly lowers the pH inside the bird and paracites and bacteria find it harder to get a hold, and the immune system can do its thing.
- it will "normalize pH levels in the stomach", improve digestion and the absoption of nutrients.
- because it is acid, it acts as an antiseptic, and a mild antibiotic as it contains bacteria that destroy infectious organisms (?)
Dilution - 10ml per liter of fresh water seems safe, but different products state different rates.
Add too much and it will taste bad and the chooks wil not drink - bad!
More Information
http://poultrykeeper.com/common-articles-to-all-poultry/general/apple-cider-vinegar.html