The benefits of adding vinegar to water for chickens: truth or myth

What does the pH of drinking water mean for the HEALTH of broilers and what parameter should be monitored first

Many poultry businesses and private poultry owners source their drinking water from wells or other sources when the physical, chemical and microbiological characteristics are often unknown, especially pH and its effect on bird performance and health. How things work in practice, scientists have checked.

An international team of researchers from the University of Zamorano, Honduras, and the National Center for Laboratory Animals, Cuba, have collaborated.

The study evaluated the effects of an acidifier (acetic acid 0.4%; broiler group T1), an apparently neutral pH (T2), and the use of an alkalizing agent (sodium bicarbonate 1%; T3) in drinking water on broiler growth during the first 10 days of life.

To assess the effect of acetic acid and sodium bicarbonate supplementation in drinking water on growth rates, relative organ weights, caecal signs, and broiler hematological parameters, a total of 456 day-old chicks were randomly divided into three groups in which the birds received water at different pH levels during 10 days.

According to the results, sodium bicarbonate supplementation in the T3 group provoked high mortality, ascites and poor productive development, and also affected the relative weight of immune organs, liver, heart and pancreas, as well as pH of the caecum, although the number of lactic acid bacteria of the caecum and hematological parameters not changed.

Acidification with vinegar showed no apparent improvement in performance compared to apparently neutral pH drinking water.

Thus, only the fact that the supply of alkaline water (due to the high content of Na) affects the health, immunity and digestive physiology of broilers is definitely confirmed. Therefore, the control of this parameter in drinking water is necessary in the first place.