Keeping your bird healthy is a full-time job, these animals can suffer from a variety of illnesses. If you’re raising a bird you need to be aware of how to spot an illness in your bird and how to treat it.
If your bird has a yeast infection you may be wondering if apple cider vinegar can be given to the bird to treat it, this article looks into it
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Apple cider vinegar for bird yeast infection:
A yeast infection is an extremely dangerous fungal infection that can affect the crop or the skin of a bird.
There are a variety of home remedies, as well as commercial remedies, that can help to treat this illness.
All types of birds, from chickens to turkeys to budgies, geese, ducks, and quails can suffer from a yeast infection. So can apple cider vinegar be used to treat a yeast infection in birds?
A look at apple cider vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is an acidic liquid, it has a pH of about 2 to 3 and this makes it mildly acidic.
This vinegar is not recommended for everyday use on birds but it can be used as a treatment against a yeast infection.
Apple cider vinegar vs a yeast infection
Birds already have fungi in their bodies. Yeast infections develop when the fungi in the bird’s body overgrow.
A yeast infection is a very fast-moving infection that usually develops in the bird’s crop, treatment is needed as soon as you realize that your bird has it
Yeast infections do not survive, or grow well, in areas that are too acidic, giving your bird apple cider vinegar to drink will make the bird’s crop more acidic.
An acidic crop will prevent a yeast infection from developing and will kill off any existing yeast infections in the bird’s body by breaking down the yeast on the crop walls.
The yeast will then be flushed out with the apple cider vinegar so it can’t attach to any other parts of the bird
After treatment:
Giving the bird an apple cider vinegar treatment will get rid of not only the bad bacteria in the bird’s body, but it will also get rid of the good bacteria in your bird’s body as well.
You’d need to combat this by giving your bird probiotics after the apple cider vinegar treatment, this will restore the proper balance of gut flora in your bird’s body.
Not giving your bird probiotics will leave the bird open to infections. Give the bird probiotics a week after you give the ACV treatment.
Benebac can be given as a probiotic, or, you can add yogurt to your bird’s moist foods. You can also get powdered probiotics and sprinkle this over your bird’s food.
Serving the vinegar to your bird:
If you decide to use apple cider vinegar to treat your bird, you’d need to dilute it. Because apple cider vinegar is so acidic, feeding it to your bird in its undiluted state can cause your bird to develop digestive issues like ulcers.
In addition, your bird may not choose to drink the apple cider vinegar if served undiluted.
Dilute the vinegar by adding 1 tbsp of the vinegar to four cups of water. Give this solution as your bird’s only source of water.
If your bird is sensitive to acids then you may need to keep a close eye on the bird as you give the bird this treatment. Look out for any changes in your bird or signs of discomfort in your bird while offering the treatment
If your bird shows signs of discomfort, vomiting, or diarrhea then you’d need to take your bird to be seen by an avian vet as soon as you can.
If you don’t take your bird to a vet, the vomiting or diarrhea can lead to the animal’s death.
Yeast infections on the skin:
Birds develop yeast infections in their bodies and on their skin. Apple cider vinegar can be used to treat a yeast infection on the skin as well.
Treat these yeast infections by soaking a cotton pad in a solution made up of apple cider vinegar and water and then dabbing it on the bird’s skin until the infection clears
As a preventative treatment?
Using apple cider vinegar as a preventative treatment against your bird developing a yeast infection in the future is not recommended.
If you constantly give your bird apple cider vinegar to prevent yeast infections then the existing yeast in the bird’s body will become immune to the apple cider vinegar.
If your bird finally does develop a yeast infection then the apple cider vinegar treatment that you offer it will not be helpful in treating the infection, your bird will need other stronger medications to treat the yeast infection
Other yeast infection treatments:
Although apple cider vinegar can be used to treat yeast infections in birds, if the infection becomes resistant to the apple cider vinegar then you may have to try a stronger medication.
Medications such as fluconazole, nystatin, flucytosine, itraconazole, ketoconazole are usually given to birds to treat this infection. If a certain drug does not work then another drug will be given.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Olive Oil In Bird Bath, Copper Pennies In Birdbath, Apple Cider Vinegar For Cockatiels, Apple Cider Vinegar For Canaries, Apple Cider Vinegar For Bird Mites