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Apple Cider Vinegar

SquawkandHowl

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Ok, I'm confused. Should we use it ONLY if there is something wrong? I am having a hard time figuring out how much to use and how often just for prevention and to keep them healthy.
Nope. You can use it not only as a preventative, but it is a healthy source of probiotics. I do it all the time!
 

Lady Jane

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Because some budgies are predisposed to have AGY or avian gastric yeast I put ACV in their drinking water one week out of the month. 2 tsp. Per quart of water.
 

hellen

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i think i need to go and lay down, the mind boggles! great post
 

singermanlynne

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What about adding it to keep the water they turn into soup from getting harmful before you have time to change it? I change mine AM & PM each day.
 

Peachfaced

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What about adding it to keep the water they turn into soup from getting harmful before you have time to change it? I change mine AM & PM each day.
I change mine out in the morning, late afternoon, and at bedtime. If I know I'm going to be gone during the afternoon, I'll change it before I leave. Worst case, you could put an extra dish of clean water in there and place it away from the food so they're less likely to make soup out of it.
 

Lady Jane

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ACV will not keep the water clean. That is not the intention of adding it to water.
 

Christa Klose

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This question comes up often ... "how much apple cider vinegar to add to my bird's drinking water?" ... A while back while I was at the vet's office, I found out that two of my birds have some budding yeast in their droppings. Everything else was perfect (blood, bacteria, physical exam, etc) so the vet did not see any need to use medications to treat this problem. It was not surprising to me, because they both eat lorikeet powder which has a higher amount of sugar in it, as compared to other parrot foods. So these birds often have issues with yeast.

His recommendation was to go back to adding apple cider vinegar to their water and recommended a ratio of 1/2 to 1 tablespoon per cup of water. In metric units, that would be about 15 ml apple cider vinegar in 240 ml water or 30 ml apple cider vinegar to 1 liter of water. I have decided to mix up a gallon to keep in the refrigerator. Using 1/2 tablespoon as basis means adding 8 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to a gallon of tap water. If I had a bigger problem to deal with, I would have increased the amount to 16 tablespoons per gallon of water.

I use Bragg brand of apple cider vinegar & get it at Whole Foods (also at other grocery stores). It's not very expensive. I think this 1 liter bottle was about $4.00. There are other brands and you can find it at all sorts of markets. This particular brand is unfiltered. Meaning it will be cloudy and contain a fluffy material. This is the bacteria that is used to create the vinegar.

Basically, when you make apple cider vinegar, you allow bacteria to convert the sugar in the apple cider to alcohol. Another type of bacteria converts the alcohol to vinegar.

The vinegar helps to acidify the digestive system in the birds and controls the overgrowth of yeast and other undesirable organisms.
 

Christa Klose

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Only apple cider which contains the mother enzyme must be given. You CANT give normal vinegar.
 

Lady Jane

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i give 1 tbsp in 1 cup (200ml) water.

This is a heavy dose of the ACV, That is 4 tbsp. per quart and more than one avian vet has told me 2 tsp. per quart of water.
Make sure and shake the ACV first before measuring. That way the Mother will not be laying on the bottom.
 

tziporiah

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How much do you use for daily maintenance
 

Lady Jane

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I do not use it daily. I make one quart and fill the water bowl once per month. The quart last my birds about 4 days or so. There are no rules on this, just advice from 2 vets. In the past I lost a dear budgie to AGY and they is why I do this. It is not a cure by any means. Yeast does not flourish in an acidic environment.
 

hisidney

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I have a citron cockatoo, and my vet told me to use a ratio of 1/2 tsp ACV for each 1/3 cup of water. She said the ratio is very specific and very important and should be in all water my bird drinks. I use this even when he was on antibiotics.
 

Lady Jane

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Your bird is larger and heavier than a budgie which I was writing about. I am glad you vet is giving you a species specific ratio. Why is she recommending ACV?
 

Ripshod

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When I was battling gastric yeast in my budgies my vet suggested a dose of 4ml in ½litre water for a maximum 4 days, repeated monthly if necessary.
He also suggested for general gut health a bag of Goldenfeast australia blend every 3 months followed by probiotics (the eucalyptus acts as a gut cleanser)
All vets are different and tend to recommend doses and methods by their own personal experience and mine hasn't been wrong yet.
Watch the future though. As holistic methods are already making inroads in veterinary medicine they will one day standardise these methods.
 
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Lady Jane

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Linden that is a great vet you have and I think I have written this before. Goldenfeast is a great brand of bird food. They don't use fillers.
 

bart79

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Apple cider vinegar can perform miracles for us all!

Tess & the gang
My parakeet was constantly getting fatty tumors which some parakeets seldom due. He was constantly getting operations to have them removed. It was terrible. I started giving him 4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in spring water and kept it in the refrigerator. He never got another tumor again. You start off with 1 tablespoon per gallon so they get used to it.
 

bart79

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My parakeet was constantly getting fatty tumors which some parakeets seldom due. He was constantly getting operations to have them removed. It was terrible. I started giving him 4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in spring water and kept it in the refrigerator. He never got another tumor again. You start off with 1 tablespoon per gallon so they get used to it.
There's something I forgot to say. My veterinarian said use Bragg's Apple cider vinegar which I do. It is not located in the supermarket with the other vinegars. They have it in the baking area.
 

scott199

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ive been reading up on this a lot and even a well renowned parrot society type place recommends it, not seen a vet as have no real reason but reading this it seems like an awful lot of people do it has a health/preventative measure, full of goodness and vitamins, my other half swears by it and uses it all the time with lemon and such things.


is the general concesus that its a good idea once a month or so ? is that one day a week once a month or for 1 week, once a month ?

Also any idea on ratios for an CAG, ive read and heard 1ml per 100mm of water, so 5ml to half a litre ?

does this sound about right ?
 

Mizzely

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I've never done it in 9 years of parrot keeping :lol:
 
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