For those asking why withholding matters. My understanding (and I am not a vet, but this is based on years in the dairy field, milking, etc.), is that withholding times are established for reasons of human sensitivity and exposure to antibiotics, etc., to maintain their effectiveness.
In short - withholding is called for so as to avoid an allergic reaction, esp if you are selling eggs, etc. because you never know who has an allergy or sensitivity that might be consuming them. If you are not allergic to the drug, I guess it would be up to you if you chance it. We don't (chance it), but that's the reason behind it.
The other reason would be to not be exposing yourself or the public to unnecessary drugs so that we do not create "superbugs" that are resistant to those drugs when we really need them for something important. ...The same reason we don't just take penicillin every time we are feeling logy.
Keep in mind that if you do eat an egg from a treated chicken, it is not as if you are consuming the dosage directly. The drug has been metabolized by the chicken, and only some small residue will even pass into the food product (which according to the above charts as I read them is very negligible anyway).
So what you do with that info is your own...these are just the reasons that we have withholdings. It is interesting to note also that the tetracyclines I have list NO withholding time for slaughter of chickens...typically the withholding for meat consumption is much longer (a month or more) on drugs than the withholding for the food product. My read on that (and again it is my own - make your own decision!) is that drug companies are erring on the side of caution, and/or are regulated to do so. I doubt in the real world it's that much of a threat unless you are allergic.
In short - withholding is called for so as to avoid an allergic reaction, esp if you are selling eggs, etc. because you never know who has an allergy or sensitivity that might be consuming them. If you are not allergic to the drug, I guess it would be up to you if you chance it. We don't (chance it), but that's the reason behind it.
The other reason would be to not be exposing yourself or the public to unnecessary drugs so that we do not create "superbugs" that are resistant to those drugs when we really need them for something important. ...The same reason we don't just take penicillin every time we are feeling logy.
Keep in mind that if you do eat an egg from a treated chicken, it is not as if you are consuming the dosage directly. The drug has been metabolized by the chicken, and only some small residue will even pass into the food product (which according to the above charts as I read them is very negligible anyway).
So what you do with that info is your own...these are just the reasons that we have withholdings. It is interesting to note also that the tetracyclines I have list NO withholding time for slaughter of chickens...typically the withholding for meat consumption is much longer (a month or more) on drugs than the withholding for the food product. My read on that (and again it is my own - make your own decision!) is that drug companies are erring on the side of caution, and/or are regulated to do so. I doubt in the real world it's that much of a threat unless you are allergic.