chick probiotics question

[Livia Stouffer]

Hello! I just had my turkey hen hatch out 8 poults, and I want to make sure everything goes smoothly so I was looking into probiotics for them. then I remembered I have some goat probiotics on hand and I was wondering if I could give some in small doses to the poults as well? it does say for goat use, but I was researching some of the ingredients and they seem ok, but I'm not an expert haha so I thought I'd ask on here to make sure everything goes ok. I don't mind going out and buying chick probios but if I can use this paste it'd be a plus!
I'll insert some pictures of the ingredients and the brand.
I'll be grateful for any advice!

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Hello! I just had my turkey hen hatch out 8 poults, and I want to make sure everything goes smoothly so I was looking into probiotics for them. then I remembered I have some goat probiotics on hand and I was wondering if I could give some in small doses to the poults as well? it does say for goat use, but I was researching some of the ingredients and they seem ok, but I'm not an expert haha so I thought I'd ask on here to make sure everything goes ok. I don't mind going out and buying chick probios but if I can use this paste it'd be a plus!
I'll insert some pictures of the ingredients and the brand.
I'll be grateful for any advice!

The amount of vitamins in the supplement and appropriateness/dosing for poultry would be my primary concerns with using it. Personally, I'd get a poultry-specific supplement. Best of luck and congrats on your poults!

 

[Ridgerunner]

My first thought, contact the maker of that goat product and ask them about using it for turkeys.

How has that goat product been stored? Are the living organisms still alive?

I don't buy probiotics for my chickens. I feed my brooder raised chicks dirt from the run where he adults have pooped. My broody raised chicks naturally peck at the ground where she and the other chickens have pooped. That naturally passes any probiotics the adults have to the chicks. That's good enough for me. That has nothing to do with vitamins, just probiotics.

If you feel you need to buy something for them, I suggest you get something fresh and specifically for poults. And use it and store it according to directions. That's if the manufacturer of that product gives you bad news. I appreciate trying to use something on hand.

Good luck!

 

[Livia Stouffer]

My first thought, contact the maker of that goat product and ask them about using it for turkeys.

How has that goat product been stored? Are the living organisms still alive?

I don't buy probiotics for my chickens. I feed my brooder raised chicks dirt from the run where he adults have pooped. My broody raised chicks naturally peck at the ground where she and the other chickens have pooped. That naturally passes any probiotics the adults have to the chicks. That's good enough for me. That has nothing to do with vitamins, just probiotics.

If you feel you need to buy something for them, I suggest you get something fresh and specifically for poults. And use it and store it according to directions. That's if the manufacturer of that product gives you bad news. I appreciate trying to use something on hand.

Good luck!

that sounds like a good idea about the dirt! my main concern for probiotics were for gut health and coccidia prevention, because I lost nearly all my poults to it last year. I think I'll try a probiotic I can add to their water this year and not risk anything with the goat probiotics. just as an extra precaution.
thank you for your help! if you have any other tips on coccidia prevention please let me know, I want to make sure everything goes a good as possible this season.

 

[cmobley]

@R2elk

 

[Ridgerunner]

Interesting. The reason I feed my brooder-raised chicks dirt from the run is Coccidiosis prevention. The probiotics and grit are just a side benefit. With your poults being raised by that hen they will get the cocci bugs from her so they can get that immunity. I'll copy something I wrote years ago about this. The actual question I was answering was about medicated feed but it should give yo some useful information.

The main takeaways are that as long as it's not too wet cocci should not be a big problem and introduce them to the bug early so they develop the immunity they need.

First you need to know what the "medicated" is in the medicated feed. It should be on the label. Usually it is Amprolium, Amprol, some such product, but until you read the label, you really don't know. Most "medicated' feed from major brands for chicks that will be layers uses Amprolium, but there are a few out there mostly for broilers that use other medicines. I'll assume yours is an Amprolium product, but if it is not, then realize everything I say about it may not apply. And it is possible that the "medicated" is Amprolium AND something else.

Amprol is not an antibiotic. It does not kill anything. It inhibits the protozoa that cause coccidiosis (often called Cocci on this forum) from multiplying in the chicken's system. It does not prevent the protozoa from multiplying; it just slows that multiplication down. There are several different strains of protozoa that can cause Cocci, some more severe than others. Chickens can develop immunity to a specific strain of the protozoa, but that does not give them immunity to all protozoa that cause Cocci. Little bitty tiny baby chicks can develop that immunity easier than older chickens.

It is not a big deal for the chicken’s intestines to contain some of the protozoa that cause Cocci. The problem comes in when the number of those protozoa gets huge. The protozoa can multiply in the chicken’s intestines but also in wet manure. Different protozoa strains have different strengths, but for almost all cases, if you keep the brooder dry, you will not have a problem.

To develop immunity to a specific strain, that protozoa needs to be in the chicks intestines for two or three weeks. The normal sequence is that a chick has the protozoa. It poops and some of the cysts that develop the protozoa come out in the poop. If the poop is slightly damp, those cysts develop and will then develop in the chick's intestines when the chicks eat that poop. This cycle needs go on for a few weeks so all chicks are exposed and they are exposed long enough to develop immunity. A couple of important points here. You do need to watch them to see if they are getting sick. And the key is to keep the brooder dry yet allow some of the poop to stay damp. Not soaking wet, just barely damp. Wet poop can lead to serious problems.

What sometimes happens is that people keep chicks in a brooder and feed them medicated feed while they are in the brooder. Those chicks are never exposed to the Cocci protozoa that lives in the dirt in their run, so they never develop the immunity to it. Then, they are switched to non-medicated feed and put on the ground where they are for the first time exposed to the protozoa. They do not have immunity, they do not have the protection of the medicated feed, so they get sick. Feeding medicated feed while in the brooder was a complete waste.

I do not feed medicated feed. I keep the brooder dry to not allow the protozoa to breed uncontrollably. The third day that they are in the brooder, I take a scoop of dirt from the run and feed it to them so I can introduce the protozoa and they can develop the immunity they need to the strain they need to develop an immunity to. To provide a place for that slightly damp poop, I keep a square of plywood in the dry brooder and let the poop build up on that. I don't lose chicks to Cocci when they hit the ground.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding medicated feed to chicks, whether the protozoa are present or not. It will not hurt them. They can still develop the immunity they need. But unless the protozoa are present, it also does no good.

If you get your chicks vaccinated for Cocci, do not feed medicated feed. It can negate the vaccinations.