Can you eat eggs from hens fed medicated feed?

[forester7]

I just got into a mess! I mixed up my feed and have accidentally been feeding my egg layers medicated chick starter for 1-1.5 weeks! The feed is medicated with "3,5 dinitro-o-toluamide" (also called Zoalene). Should I worry that we have been eating the eggs? How long should I wait before eating more eggs from these hens now that they are on their proper feed? Anyone have any ideas? I am going to try to find out info from my feed store tomorrow, but I don't know if they will be able to tell me much.

Thanks in advance for any insights!

 

[azygous]

Here is a study on medicated feed and how long it takes for the medication to disappear from the eggs a medicated hen lays. http://www.farad.org/publications/miscellaneous/LayingHensEggResidues.pdf Skip to page 22 and you'll see at the very bottom Robinadine (Zoalene). It says it takes 13 days from end of treatment to reach the point of no longer being detected in eggs.

 

[forester7]

Thank you for your reply, azygous, but Robenidine is not the same as Zoalene, which this same article does mention. However, the study still found it present in eggs at 14 weeks when the study ended, which still leaves me wondering how long I should wait. i am also wondering what it might do to me if I eat it, and just how much is actually in the eggs.

 

[azygous]

Well, if it's an coccidiostat, and not an antibiotic, I would feel safe in eating the eggs. These meds just block thiamine uptake. Take extra B vitamins for a while.

 

[forester7]

I have done some more digging and found out that there are no "known" short term effects on humans, but it "may cause mutations"... not very encouraging! I still can fond nothing about when it would be safe to start eating the eggs again.

 

[Chris2018]

Well, if it's an coccidiostat, and not an antibiotic, I would feel safe in eating the eggs. These meds just block thiamine uptake. Take extra B vitamins for a while.

Not all are Thiamine "blockers.
Amprolium is the only one that blocks Thiamine but there are many other types of coccidiosis prevention/treatments that are added to feeds and most leave a residue in the egg which means there is a withdrawal time.