Apple cider vinegar, garlic and poultry

Written by Sue Clarke. Provided by New Zealand Lifestyle Block, incorporating Growing Today, magazine.

Here at Lifestyle Block magazine, we know you love your chickens - over 70% of you have hens, and most of you are interested in taking care of them in a more organic manner.

One of the most common questions we get is about the use of apple cider vinegar (ACV) - for all kinds of livestock - and while its efficacy in ruminants as a tonic has not been studied very much, research into its use with poultry is slightly clearer.

Specialist poultry researchers at the University of Arkansas have run trials on the use of products like ACV in the water of broiler (chickens raised for meat) production systems, to reduce pH levels.

Previous research has shown that if the pH of the crop (basically the first part of the chicken's stomach) was lowered close to a pH of 4 (acid), it creates an environment that was inhospitable to undesirable microbes, particularly nasty bacterias.

The University of Arkansas study wanted to know if adjusting the water pH was sufficient to lower the pH of the crop, and if so, if it would affect the bird's water consumption, weight gain, feed conversion and liveability.

They ran several trials using broiler chicks (male) in an outdoor situation during summer and indoors in winter. Feed was provided and carefully measured, and different groups were testing using water varying from pH3 to pH5. In this trial, sodium bisulfate was used to lower the pH of the water to the intended (and carefully measured) acidity levels.

The results found no differences between the groups in water consumption, weight gain, feed conversion or livability. However, the birds who were consuming water with a lower pH recorded a similarly lower pH in their crops, but not in the gizzard - this was expected, as natural secretions of hydrochloric acid in the gizzard evened out the pH to normal.

The scientists involved concluded chickens are very tolerant of a wide range of pH levels in their water, and that by lowering the pH of the water using sodium bisulfate, they could lower the pH of the bird's crop.

In production systems where feed includes finely ground grains (as found in mash and pellets) and poor quality water, there tends to be an increased risk for the development of harmful bacteria and mould, so this temporary lowering of the pH can kill off many of the harmful (and beneficial) microbes.

There are a few caveats from the scientists concerned. First, you need to know (accurately) the pH of the drinking water you offer to your birds. Secondly, you then need to test how much of an acidifier you would need to add (such as apple cider vinegar) to the water to get the pH as close to 4 as possible. The water will need to be good quality, in a clean container.

While the tests in this report were conducted over eight weeks and some birds received low pH water for that time with no ill effect, it is recommended in a home flock situation that ACV be added to water for a day, before returning to your normal water supply, and that your bird's intake is measured (the easiest way to do this is using a water drip bottle but you may have to be inventive if your birds don't know how to use one) - you need to know that the addition of ACV is not putting your birds off drinking for that day. Block off any access to other water supplies.

Using ACV in the water supply once a month should help to prevent bacteria building up in the crop of your birds.

The use of ACV is a preventative measure; it is not a cure-all, nor is it infallible. It is a useful additional, organic tool for the free-range flock owner to use to help prevent bacterial infections in their chickens.

What about garlic?

For mites
Research shows garlic essential oil may be an effective preventative and possible a curative for the treatment of external parasites. Hens affected by mites (in a controlled situation) had their vents sprayed with a 10% solution of garlic juice and water, once a week for three weeks. In the fourth week, hens were scored for the presence of northern fowl mites on their skin and feathers. Significantly fewer mites were found on the birds treated with garlic juice, versus those that received no treatment. The research indicated topical application of garlic juice to the skin of hens may be another effective way to decrease mite numbers. Veterinary Herbal Medicine (Susan Wynn, Barbara Foug?re, published by Elsevier Health Sciences, 2006)

For keeping down the smell
With an increasing number of inner city poultry owners worldwide, and a build-up in the population of rural communities around poultry farms, scientists at Clemson University wanted to test whether feeding garlic powder to chickens could mask the odour of the chicken's manure.

They added garlic powder at a level of 3% to the bird's feed and started to measure the results. After three weeks, the odour was reduced, and the scientists reported the smell of manure was being replaced by the smell of a pizzeria. They also tested the taste of the eggs with consumers and found in blind taste tests, they preferred the "garlic" eggs over "normal" eggs.

More tests were underway to see if garlic also had an effect on the smell of pig manure. Early indications were that the pigs were initially more fussy, not wanting to eat the garlic-infused food, but once eating it initial results seemed to be similar to chickens, with a reduction in the odour of the manure.

This article was provided by NZ Lifestyle Block, incorporating Growing Today magazine.
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