I do it for young chicks from the hatchery. It is supposed to help prevent pasty butt. And it can be used as a general tonic for poultry or rabbits. 1 -2 Tablespoons per gallon is what I use. I don't know if it has any effect on worms, but it certainly won't hurt the birds.

The short answer: The list exists to make money for lawyers. Lots of drugs on it are effective for a variety of indications, but may have side effects that can be exploited in lawsuits (which mostly benefit attorneys). Of course, this is an herbalism forum and neither I nor anyone else has suggested that posters take prescription drugs for bladder infections. What's been pointed out is that ACV has no demonstrated effectiveness (or any mechanism by which one could imagine it being effective) against such infections. Cranberry juice, on the other hand, does have some evidence in its corner. "I have noted that tests for natural medicines printed in the peer reviewed journals use doses clearly below the theraputic dose recognized by the majority of herbalists for their studies. I noted this in tests printed in the New England Journal of Medicine, no less. This crap must stop. That it goes on at all is WHY there is a growing number of people using herbal methods. I have also noted that herbs that are usually used in a mixture with other herbs are tested alone, in a way they are not used. This happens with tests of Chinese herbs." This would be an interesting subject for a separate discussion, to include any examples of studies supposedly using suboptimal doses of herbal drugs. As to mixtures, there are in fact numerous studies looking at them. What can be problematic is when a mixture contains one herb believed to be the effective agent and the rest may or may not be filler. The only way to know if the purported effective component works is to test it separately (it could be, for example, that one or more other components of the mixture actually interfere with the active herb which might work better on its own). One old-time example is the folk remedy for heart failure that an 18th century British physician, William Withering studied, and discovered that while multiple elements in the herbal mix were unrelated to its actions on the heart, one herb (digitalis) was responsible for increasing heart contractility. That discovery paved the way for digitalis' use in general medicine (at a standardized, safer and more effective dose than one could count on in a home remedy). Chinese herbal mixtures are notorious for containing elements not listed on the label. "Contamination" (apparently deliberate) has included powerful prescription drugs (such as indomethacin and steroids) or toxic herbs like aristolochia, so that would be a major reason for being careful about using such mixtures. To get back to the cry of "They don't want you to know" (about supposedly cheap and effective home remedies): this hits close to home for me and many other health professionals who have experienced serious illness in ourselves or close family and friends. My mother (a physician) died of colon cancer. Does anyone doubt that she would have been willing to use a cheap home cure and enthusiastically promoted it to others if one existed?

I have been making hard cider for a couple of years now. First year I started fermentation in the carboy - and was getting the explosions. This year, I started fermentation in a large mouth 5 gallon tub. It came with a lid and a hole in which you put the bung and air lock. Use the champagne yeast, not brewer's yeast or baker's yeast as this will increase the alcohol content. Cider only takes about 2 weeks to get done - some people keep wine for 30 or 60 days. In the first few days, you'll see "head" and bubbles, you will also see the yeast in suspension. After a week, the bubbles will disappear but the yeast is still there. I tried drinking it - and it gave me a pretty bad hang over - the reason is that the organic products in suspension give off trace quantities of methanol. After a week more, the yeast will die and fall to bottom and the cider will clarify. You won't see the yeast in suspension. Now it's done and ready for bottling. I tried drinking it again - and no hangover. The taste is not quite cider - more like white wine. --- Regarding your question - you can add the sugar and the yeast. If the vinegar is not "strong" enough as a pickling agent - then the yeast will continue to ferment. If it is strong enough - then the yeast will not - which means it is a strong enough pickling agent. However, be sure to add champagne yeast - as that can tolerate the highest alcohol content and acidity - I believe around 18%. Also, you can just taste the vinegar and compare it to another product with a published acetic acid content of 5%. Is it more or less sour - if it is more sour - it should have higher vinegar concentration. It sounds to me like you vinegar is still oxidizing. You have to stir the vinegar and keep it open to air to allow oxygen to interact with the alcohol. If it is unstirred, in a large barrel it can take six months, with an automatic stirrer it could take a two or three weeks. The more surface area that is exposed to air and the frequent agitation will reduce the time to complete the process.

I "slurp" about a half a capfull right before I brush my teeth and go to bed. I assume that is like a teaspoon. For some reason the harsh taste bothers me less if I slurp it with lots of bubbles of air instead of just drinking it. Some people pour it onto a piece of bread and eat the bread. I like vinegar. I eat lots of pickles and olives. But straight apple cider vinegar is still very harsh tasting to me. I have posted advice about taking it on various threads here in the health forum so you might wanna dig through the old posts to read more or just google it and read the more scientific stuff out there. The main thing is that in the beginning you will feel awful immediately after you drink it. You will be convinced that you have just poisoned yourself - it is truly awful. But in a few minutes all the symptoms die down and you will notice that for the first time that day your acid levels feel normal and that the pains in your chest are gone.