Feeding medicated feed to chicks?

[mustangsaguaro]

I have noticed that many of you feed medicated feed to your growing chicks. What is the purpose of this?

I am fairly new to chickens (about 7 months) and the property I live on the previous tennant left a few of his chickens on his property. When hubby and I found them there was a hen and 10 little babies. Since I new nothing about chickens at that time I basically let the hen rear her own babies. I did give them food and water, but they had access to free range during the day. I did not give any medicated feed to them or vaccinate them.

In the future my husband and I possibly plan to raise chicks/chickens to sell and for their eggs. Is giving medicated feed and vaccinating necessary, if so why? My babies are now almost 8 months old (have only 1 left as I sold a few, and traded a few for some different breeds). My babies grew into very healthy birds. The guy that I traded w/ yesterday commented on healthy my birds were.

I like to do things in a more natural/wholistic approach. I don't like to give my animals a lot of chemicals, and I worm only naturally (I don't use chemical wormers), and am against vaccinating. I do give my animals nosodes (homeopathic vaccines) instead of regular vaccines.

 

[chicken crazy]

Very good question. The problem with getting chickens from a hatchery (like many people I have read on this site do, as well as myself) if that the chicks are in amongst so many birds and therefore have a very high risk, since they haven't developed an immune system strong enough yet, of contracting cocci among other problems. The birds that you had left on your property were ony amongst the animals there and if those animals didn't have a problem then your chicks would be ok, so was the case. Chicks are very sensitive and the mother, in my opinion, is the best one to keep them at the optimal temperature and model the ways. My opinion on the whole medicated or not is not to medicate but if you still want organic you are still allowed to vaccinate. Medicated feed has anitbiotics and thus I don't use it. If you vaccinate you don't feed medicated feed and your birds are just as safe!

 

[Cuban Longtails]

Medicated chick starter is generally used as a preventative against cocci. You don't have to feed them medicated starter, it's all a matter of personal preference.

 

[Katy]

The only medicated feed I feed mine has amprolium which is a preventative against cocciodosis not really a medication.

 

[Xtradust]

Yeah, my chick starter has Amprolium in it. I thought it was an anti-biotic. I read (on BYC) that you only need to give them medicated starter for 8 weeks. I punched "amprolium" into my search bar and found this...

"Loss of body condition, poor gains and mortality are effects of acute coccidiosis in cattle. Amprolium is an effective anit-coccidial that may be fed to cattle. Amprolium kills coccidian by preventing thiamin uptake and utilization by the protozoa."

Sounds like it just keeps the protozoa from getting the nutrients it needs. It also said down a ways that they had made animals "thiamin deficient" by giving mega-doses of Amprolium.

Doesn't sound like that bad of stuff to me. But ???

Matt

 

[speckledhen]

It's just a thiamine blocker. No withdrawal time for eggs at all. Not an antibiotic. I always feed medicated since I have batches of chicks raised in the same nursery coop and on the same ground over and over.

 

[chicken crazy]

In the poultry industry, common drug additives to chicken feed are the antibiotics amprolium, penicillin, and chlortetracycline. Call it want you want.

 

[speckledhen]

I beg to differ on the amprolium. It is not an antibiotic. It is a thiamine analog. There are no antibiotics added to regular chicken feed in the United States unless it is something similar to bacitracin to prevent necrotic enteritis added to chick starter.

 

[hinkjc]

Medicated feed has anitbiotics

Not true...just nasty old rumors non-chicken people like to spread around. LOL

Amprolium is not an antibiotic, but a cocciodiostat with zero withdrawal time. Your chicks will get minimal doses of a thiamine blocker so they can build natural immunity to cocci, an often fatal disease in young chicks, generally diagnosed by bloody diarrhea.

In my opinion, this feed is essential if you interact with adult (outdoor) birds, as you risk bringing cocci to your brooder every day.

Commercial hatcheries may add additional drugs to their feed regimen but it is not in the same chick feed we buy as consumers.

Jody​