by Dr Colin Walker
The Flying Vet's Pigeon Health & Management
Adding apple cider vinegar, which is acetic acid, and other acids, such as citric acid, to the water is one of those older practices that at first glance seems like hocus pocus. However, they are of benefit and there is a scientific reason for their use. In health, the bowel is weakly acidic. This is because the normal bacteria found there produce lactic acid as part of their normal metabolism. With stress, [as in YB training & racing] these normal bacterial populations are disrupted and the pH within the bowel is altered. Harmful bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella do not like acidic conditions and so anything that helps to maintain the weakly acidic environment within the bowel helps to prevent these organisms from becoming established. The usual amount of apple cider vinegar to add is 5-10 ml to 1 litre of water, depending on product strength and local water pH.
Interestingly; the commercially available probiotic preparations, because they contain the normal bowel bacteria, produce lactic acid and this is one of the ways they help to maintain bowel health.