Tried giving my hens apple cider vinegar for a month straight

I heard from some folks online that ACV in the water helps keep chickens healthy, so I added a tablespoon per gallon for about 4 weeks. My layers actually dropped from 5 eggs a day to 2, and one of my Barred Rocks got weirdly lethargic. I stopped the vinegar and within a week they were back to normal. Has anyone else had their flock react badly to apple cider vinegar?

2 comments

2 Comments

leo6031mo agoTop Commenter

You mentioned the egg drop and the lethargic Barred Rock, which makes me wonder if you were using raw, unfiltered vinegar with the mother. I tried that once and my girls went off their feed completely. Turns out the acid can mess with their crop pH and make it hard for them to digest calcium properly, especially if they're already on a layer feed with oyster shell. Your hens might have been struggling to absorb enough calcium to keep up with egg production.

drew_west1mo ago

Drew West here. Back in 2017 I had a similar run with a batch of Australorps after switching to a diatomaceous earth worming routine. Turns out the DE was fine for the chickens themselves, but it settled thick in their waterers and clogged the valves. They went almost a full day without water during a heatwave before I noticed. Ended up losing three birds, and the survivors took weeks to get their laying back on track. I wonder if your water setup could be interfering with their ability to drink enough to regulate their crop pH on top of the vinegar issue.