question about ACV

[ilmillu]

Someone can please help me about the dose/drops of apple cider vinegar in a 7oz tube?

[cindy]

I use a gallon/1 tablespoon. For a cup or tube 1 to 2 drops.

[ac12]

I dose mine at 1 drop of ACV to 1 oz of water.
So a 7 oz tube = 7 drops of ACV

[PrettyBird]

Whats the benefits of this? Do you use apple cider vinegar everyday in their drinking water? And if so how do you dose it?

I use about 1-2 cups of water for all my birds. So how much would I need to mix in with 1-2 c? Is it one or two drops?
TIA

[ac12]

I understand it acidifies the water a bit, making is harder for some bacteria/bugs to grow.

Based on my dosage 1 drop of ACV : 1 oz of water
1 cup = 8oz, then 8 drops of ACV
2 cups = 16oz, then 16 drops of ACV

[PrettyBird]

Great thanks Gary.
Do people use it once a day? week? mo?

[ac12]

Every time I change their drinking water.

I also do that to their bath water, as they also drink the bath water.

[ilmillu]

do you still add acv when youre ading water vitamins?

[nixity]

If you do it every time you change their drinking water doesn't that mean you're adding it all the time?

There are some things to consider.

If you do not know the current pH of the water you're giving your birds you shouldn't immediately jump to try to acidify it.
What if the water is already somewhat acidic?

The goal is not to perpetually offer your birds acidic water.
When I was using Sweetwater (which basically does the same as ACV it's just a product designed for birds) I would do a water rotation schedule which was like this:

M: Fresh Water
T: Fresh Water
W: Calcium Plus
R: Fresh Water
F: Fresh Water
S: Sweet Water
S: Sweet water

This was because I would assume that in the wild the birds are not always drinking pure 7.0 pH water in the wild. I'm sure some of it is acidic, some of it is basic, etc.
So there's a degree of natural anti-microbial properties to the ponds they are drinking from depending on where they drink.
There really isn't a way to mimic basic water though (safely, for them to consume, at least I haven't found a way), so I just used the Sweetwater to slightly acidify the water.

I wouldn't suggest doing this every day though.
And if you don't know what the pH is of the water you're giving, in order to know whether adding ACV changes it (and if it does, what it changes to), then how do you know it's even really doing anything?

[DanteD716]

Here is a good topic about it:

http://finchforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=4 ... &hilit=acv

[ac12]

Good point Tiffany
I have to dig out my aquarium PH test kit to see what my water tests out at.

[lou]

Tiffany check this out,
So, I try to mimic what my import birds eat, drink, and so on, you get the drift, and slowly change their diet to all my captive bred diet . A captive bred hasn't any idea what it's like in the wild . I hope this sounds right, what are your thoughts-- anyone
lou

[nixity]

Well, of course, a domestic bred bird doesn't know what it's like in the Australian Outback or African Savannah, but IMO that doesn't mean we should just completely ignore the influence of their native environment/habitat on their behavior, diet, breeding practices, etc.

In captivity they also have the option to breed non-stop year round, but is it a good idea to let them?

The fact is the birds can not do anything about their captive environments. They can only make use of what we provide them.

A captive bred Lion doesn't have any idea what it is like in Africa, but it still retains instincts surrounding hunting and pride behavior. Just because it's not hunting and catching antelope or zebra doesn't also mean they're fed milk and pizzas by the zookeepers.
It's an extreme comparison but hopefully my point comes across..

I didn't really suggest anywhere that the birds know what they would be getting in the wild, just that if it works for them in the wild, I see no harm in trying to replicate some of their wild diet in my home.

[lou]

just wanted your thoughts
lou