>Keeps
the flavor consistant so that they will drink strange water. I had heard
Apple Cider Vinegar helps to dissolve Enterolithes. I have also heard >that this is not correct. Whom are
we to believe. Beccy
Those statements are based on some research done at UC
Davis that demonstrated that feeding 2 cups a day of vinegar (any vinegar) will
very slightly acidify the pH of the hindgut. It did NOT attempt to demonstrate
that doing so had any direct effect whatsoever on enteroliths, let alone
dissolve them. Raising the pH of the hindgut probably has some minor beneficial
effect on decreasing future formation of enteroliths (maybe), but you’re
also as or more likely to significantly acidify the hindgut by eliminating or
minimizing alfalfa in the ration (the calcium content is a significant buffer
against acidification), and feeding fermentable feeds, like beet pulp, grain to
some extent (obviously, that has its own limitations), or just lots and lots and
lots of the ‘neutral’ grass hays. So you can raise the pH of
the hindgut, but you mostly have to do so downstream from the pancreas’
bicarbonate output that has no trouble whatsoever neutralizing the much,
MUCH stronger gastric acids secreted just upstream in the stomach. Acidic
by-products as the result of fermentation occur in the cecum and large colon
(downstream) and so aren’t affected by pancreatic secretions.
I have a jar with a small enterolith sitting in cider vinegar
from 1992. I even added some phosphoric acid to make the solution 100
times stronger than any vinegar you’d ever buy at a grocery store. Fifteen
years of 24/7 marinating, and I’m still waiting for the enterolith to start
to show signs of dissolving.
