For Those of You Newbies Getting Chicks for the First Time, Read PLZ

[speckledhen]

Thank you for saying that. I'm glad to be of help. If your chicks are doing well on it, I would say keep doing what you're doing. They are not being harmed by anything in your starter, I would say, although I do not personally have any experience with Blue Seal. After awhile, the babies build up their immunities to the coccidia and don't really need the Amprolium anyway. I usually start them on medicated(Amprolium only!), just because that is what is readily available in a high-quality food here where I live. If you have a choice when they're a bit older, you could switch to non-medicated, but either way, they'll be fine. Maybe you should ask to see the label of that starter, or go on the net and locate a listing of the ingredients in Blue Seal. Then make your judgement call. Any starter is probably fine, whether it is medicated or not medicated. Don't get too tied up in that one way or another. Chickens have been raised on both with great success. It's the other stuff people give their chicks that I was mainly concerned with in starting this post. I am by no means an expert, but I have had great success in starting several batches of chicks and guineas without all the extra added things I've seen on this board and others.

 

[AccidentalFarm]

From the McMurray website:

PLEASE READ: To reduce the threat of coccidiosis you should either: 1) Have us vaccinate your birds and not use medicated feed. OR 2) Use a medicated feed containing a coccidiostat. ORGANIC GROWERS: Vaccinations are in compliance with the NOP/USDA organic standards. You should verify with your certifying agency before having us vaccinate your chicks.

In non-vaccinated birds, it is a matter of personal choice. However, if the chicks have had the coccidiosis vaccine, the do not need medicated feed.

 

[speckledhen]

I have heard that myself, but here is the dilemma: Many of us get chicks at a feedstore. No matter what they tell you has been done fo/for the chicks, how do you know unless you get to see the bill/packing slip from the hatchery? My feedstore told me once that oh, yes, they're vaccinated for this and this and this when I know that they don't get all those vaccinations at a day old. So, was I lied to? Probably. (They also told me that these chicks they got from Ideal are Ideal's best ones and the other feedstore that also buys from Ideal gets "seconds" so they can charge less for their chicks.

)And I have no way of knowing whether or not they really ordered the chicks vaccinated.

So, do you assume they've been vaccinated and not give medicated starter? Do you assume they haven't been vaccinated and do give medicated starter? See what I'm saying? If you have ordered the chicks yourself, then you may know, but if you buy them at a feedstore, then you don't. Either way, if you feed them medicated starter to be sure they get the Amprolium and it negates the vaccination, then they are still getting protection. If you don't feed the medicated starter, then either they were vaccinated and are protected or they were not vaccinated and you need to keep a clean environment for them. Make sense?

 

[Firefly]

Good advice, as usual! I went to the Blue Seal site and apparently their chick starter only contains the Amprolium. After a few weeks I may switch them to the non-medicated, if I can find it. If not, I won't stress about it. Thanks again!

 

[speckledhen]

That sounds great, Firefly! And if you can't get non-medicated, don't sweat it. My first batch of girls, who are now over a year old, had the medicated almost until they began to lay. They are a healthy bunch of bellbottomed ladies, I must say!

 

[AccidentalFarm]

Quote:
Definitely makes sense, my as yet unaswered question was whether feeding medicated starter to vaccinated chicks would in some way hurt the chicks- or over medicate them, which would seem easy to do to such tiny little babies.
I know that I felt all panicky when I first heard "no medicated feed for vaccinated chicks"...mine were on medicated starter and I had no idea that there was UNmedicated starter. But I did know my chicks had been vaccinated. I was sure I would soon find them dead or horribly ill. I switched feed immediately and no visible harm done.

The best thing I have done is spend time reading BYC and just watching my chicks. Now, I know i'll see unexpected things as they grow, but I'm waaay more educated than when I first got my chicks, and also know that whatever I might encounter with these babies..more than likely someone here has too, and the answers can probably be found with a quick search.

 

[cookinmom]

This is a great thread. Speckledhen, I like the way you present info and answer questions. Thank you.

I agree with mudhen also. When I was getting ready to order my babies, I was reading everything I could find, and one of the best articles was the Raising Chickens 101 article, re: the first 60 days after hatch, on the BYC website. It really kept me from stressing out, especially during those first few days.

 

[speckledhen]

I don't believe the medicated feed given to vaccinated chicks will over-medicate them, but I am only speaking about those that contain Amprolium here. I don't feed mine anything with antibiotics in the feed. Chicks are usually vaccinated for Mareks if you request it, but the Amprolium, as far as I know, only helps the chicks with coccidia, not Mareks. As I said, I am certainly no expert, but I don't recall hatcheries vaccinating for coccidiosis, which is what Amprolium helps prevent. I'd say Amprolium won't have any bearing on the vaccination for Mareks. If someone more knowledgable than I can clarify this, I'd be happy to hear it. If you know for sure your chicks were vaccinated for coccidiosis, then naturally, you should probably just use non-medicated feed, as McMurray suggests. I know that thousands of chicks that may have been vaccinated for coccidia were probably also fed medicated feed and although it may negate the vaccination, I do not believe it over-medicates them. I never vaccinate my chicks I hatch for anything, but my original girls were fed starter with Amprolium because I did not know if they had really been vaccinated for anything or not.

 

[chickenranchwife]

Speckledhen, You are so full of knowledge and I appreciate it. I use the medicated feed with Amprolium. That's the only feed other than layer that our feed store has, and my chicks came from a local feed store. So yes I am taking precautions. My babies are all doing good and are now 3 weeks old and thank God I haven't lost one outta 54. I was back in the feed store today and seen the cutest baby ducklings they are called easter ducks, and I also took a couple of the black Astrolops.
Again thanks for your knowledge. It was not taken wrong. I myself am new and I do pay attention to things that you write in here.

 

[demonique]

More good knowledge. Was just panicking because I discovered that my chicks, which I requested be vaccinated for cocci, would /have/ to be on medicated feed. Turns out there's nothing else I can get. Unfortunately, it's also got two drugs in it, Amprolium and something else. Unfortunately, it, too, is /all/ I can get, at least for the first week.

I'm going to be calling McMurray's in a bit to see if I can quickly (they're supposed to arrive on Monday!) change my order to an unvaccinated order, or at least ask the pros there if feeding medicated feed will do any /harm/ to the chicks if they have been vaccinated. Their site only claims, as someone posted, that it will nullify the vaccine. I can live with that, as long as it doesn't, you know, kill them all off. *laugh*

I would think that if medicated feed given to a vaccinated bird would do more than nullify the vaccine, McMurray's would say so. Like: "Severe risk of fatality" or something, rather than just "nullify the vaccine".