Big Problem. HELP ;(

[btny9]

I bought medicated feed before I knew it would nullify the vaccination that Murry McMurry did on my chicks. When they arrived all I had was medicated feed and I had no other choice but to give it to them. They have only ate it yesterday and today. What do I do?

 

[ohiochick2013]

Well, once the vaccine has been nullified, you'll probably want to keep feeding them the medicated feed or else they'll probably be susceptible to coccidiosis.

 

[ImpulsiveFarmer]

If you don't have a ton of birds you don't really need to worry much about the diseases the vaccines protect against. I have never vaccinated or fed my birds medicated feed and I've yet to have one die on me.

I wouldn't feed my birds medicated feed unless they need it. Giving animals antibiotics when they don't need them is what causes diseases to become resistant to medications.

Although this is the first time I've heard that medicated feed negates vaccines. Where did you hear this?

 

[btny9]

I called the hatchery and they said they should be fine as long as I have not a problem with it before and to just make Shure they stay healthy. Wooooo I was scared for a minute.

 

[hopefulpeeps]

Mine are supposed to get vaccinated too... Does that mean no medicated feed? These are my first chickens, so there won't be any "other chicken" germs around...

 

[btny9]

Mine too. And when I got mine it said Medicated Feed Will Nullify the Vaccination

 

[Karen12]

Stupid question...what vaccination are we talking about? Mercks disease is different than coccidiosis. What other vaccinations do the hatcheries give? Sorry for the noob question

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you look at the label, you can see what the “medicine” is in the medicated feed. With most of the feed we normally buy its Amprolium, though it is a good idea to actually check the label. Saying all medicated feed is medicated with Amprolium is a lot like saying all vaccinations cover the same thing.

For those that don’t know, different hatcheries will vaccinate for different things. The two most common are Marek’s and Coccidiosis but a few will offer others.

Amprolium is not an antibiotic. It is targeted only at Coccidiosis and nothing else.

The literature says that feeding chicks feed with Amprolium MIGHT negate the effects of the vaccine. It does not say it will one hundred thousand million per cent of the time, it might, so it is a good idea to not feed medicated feed that is medicated with Amprolium the first three weeks or so. If you give them antibiotics, you probably have negated the effects before they can develop the immunity they need.

The last time I checked, which was a couple of years ago, the Coccidiosis vaccination does not protect against all the strains of Coccidiosis. It protects against some of the strains. It’s still a good idea to know what the symptoms of Coccidiosis are so you can be on the lookout for them. Don’t let then being vaccinated lure you into complacency or make you think them getting Coccidiosis is now impossible.

My chicks are not vaccinated against Coccidiosis, whether I hatch them myself or get them from a hatchery. The different strains of Coccidiosis have different strengths but most can be controlled by keeping the brooder fairly dry. This does not mean it has to be changed out daily, but a wet brooder is a dangerous brooder. Just be reasonable about this.

Coccidiosis lives in the soil. I don’t know what strains are in your soil if any are. When they hit the ground they are going to come into contact with whatever is in your soil. They can develop the Coccidiosis immunities they need easier when they are young than when they are older. I did not just say if they are older when they come into contact with it they are going to die. I said it’s easier for them to develop the immunities when they are young.

I purposely take dirt from the run where the older chickens are and give that to the chicks in my brooder when they are two to three days old. This does several things that I like. They get grit in their system. They get any probiotics the adults have, which can only help. And they get exposed to anything else, including Coccidiosis, that the adults may have. For some of those things they may not be able to develop immunities easier when they are very young, but for Coccidiosis and some other things they can. I’d rather them go through that when they are in a controlled environment in the brooder and when I can more easily observe them.

I have never had any problems with my chicks doing this, whether from Coccidiosis or anything else. I’m not going to say that no one anywhere has never run into problems doing this but think about it. They are going to have to face all that when they hit the ground anyway. I don’t know how you plan to avoid that.

 

[roostersandhens]

I bought medicated feed before I knew it would nullify the vaccination that Murry McMurry did on my chicks. When they arrived all I had was medicated feed and I had no other choice but to give it to them. They have only ate it yesterday and today. What do I do?

If you dont want to feed them the medicated chick feed you can give them scrambled eggs I think the medicated feed is inportant though.

 

[hopefulpeeps]

Thanks Ridgerunner!

So none of this has anything to do with just the Mareks vaccine? That's all mine are getting, so I guess that means I can feed the medicated feed?