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Gosling Found! What do I do??
- Thread starter someplumbcoop
- Start date
Please read this before feeding your bird Medicated chick feed. I'm not sure why people on here are advising you feed this to a baby goslings. Kinda scares me that "Experienced" geese owners don't know better. This was found on a waterfowl newsletter. http://www.majesticwaterfowl.org/mmissue6.htm
"What should I feed them?" Unfortunately, many make the mistake of feeding their ducks and geese chicken feed or worse, feeding medicated chick starter to goslings and ducklings. These feeds are fine for chickens, but waterfowl have unique nutritional needs that chicken feeds cannot supply. Furthermore, medicated chick starters can cause organ damage or even death if ingested in large enough quantities.
Ducklings and goslings need sufficient niacin in order to develop strong, healthy legs. Signs of niacin deficiency are weak legs and difficulty standing or walking. The condition is often reversible if caught early enough and involves switching to a niacin rich waterfowl feed along with niacin supplementation (brewer's yeast flakes are tasty and rich in niacin). If the dietary deficiency is not corrected, permanent leg damage may result.
If you have anymore questions feel free to pm me and be leary of the advice you get before doing some homework.
"What should I feed them?" Unfortunately, many make the mistake of feeding their ducks and geese chicken feed or worse, feeding medicated chick starter to goslings and ducklings. These feeds are fine for chickens, but waterfowl have unique nutritional needs that chicken feeds cannot supply. Furthermore, medicated chick starters can cause organ damage or even death if ingested in large enough quantities.
Ducklings and goslings need sufficient niacin in order to develop strong, healthy legs. Signs of niacin deficiency are weak legs and difficulty standing or walking. The condition is often reversible if caught early enough and involves switching to a niacin rich waterfowl feed along with niacin supplementation (brewer's yeast flakes are tasty and rich in niacin). If the dietary deficiency is not corrected, permanent leg damage may result.
If you have anymore questions feel free to pm me and be leary of the advice you get before doing some homework.
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Wow, thats new to me. All of my ducks were raised on medicated chick feed. But thats me. Idk if theres other types of medicated chick feed or what, but my local feed stores chick feed is fine.
You have to understand that most think back to when medicated feed had arsenic and other very harmful chemicals in them. Amprolium is just a coccidiostat. I have always used medicated for the first few weeks just like others that are way more experienced and raised a ton more waterfowl.
Read this. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=6201952#p6201952
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I sorry to all the med bashers, but I have to agree, when medicated for nothing more than coccidia, (ambuprolum) they can eat it and do just fine.
Trust me, I have raised more waterfowl than 90% of this forum combined and they all get medicated feed all the time as ducklings, and mine arent the domestics they are near 100 species of migratory and ornamental ducks and geese, the truly sensitive stuff. Some other meds yes can harm waterfowl, but it really has to be in an obviously extreme overdose for a long period of time. Simply feeding medicated chick starter to your young will not kill them. Back in the day, the chemicals used were much harsher and since they have started using new coccidiants, which are safe for all back yard fowls, period. Your duck isnt going to die from a coccidiant used in medicated feed.
Adding niacin is a plus as well, but again, I never once have go to all that, they get Purina Startena and do just fine....same as my bantams, peafowl, pheasants, everything here gets it.
Take it for what you will, (26 years of migratory duck breeding here, literally 1000's per year) if you dont want to use it, by all means dont, but then dont get upset when your ducks get coccidia either.
By the way, the dosage levels in the feed are just a preventative level to start with, very low, they'd have to eat a bag in a day to OD on it.
Read this. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=6201952#p6201952
Quote:
I sorry to all the med bashers, but I have to agree, when medicated for nothing more than coccidia, (ambuprolum) they can eat it and do just fine.
Trust me, I have raised more waterfowl than 90% of this forum combined and they all get medicated feed all the time as ducklings, and mine arent the domestics they are near 100 species of migratory and ornamental ducks and geese, the truly sensitive stuff. Some other meds yes can harm waterfowl, but it really has to be in an obviously extreme overdose for a long period of time. Simply feeding medicated chick starter to your young will not kill them. Back in the day, the chemicals used were much harsher and since they have started using new coccidiants, which are safe for all back yard fowls, period. Your duck isnt going to die from a coccidiant used in medicated feed.
Adding niacin is a plus as well, but again, I never once have go to all that, they get Purina Startena and do just fine....same as my bantams, peafowl, pheasants, everything here gets it.
Take it for what you will, (26 years of migratory duck breeding here, literally 1000's per year) if you dont want to use it, by all means dont, but then dont get upset when your ducks get coccidia either.
By the way, the dosage levels in the feed are just a preventative level to start with, very low, they'd have to eat a bag in a day to OD on it.
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Thats strange. Well i'm just saying mine never had problems. But hey, that might be right.
My first time raising out gosling's a few years ago I fed "Purina Medicated Start and Grow" about three weeks of age i was losing my babies left and right for no obvious reason. I noticed one of the little guys stopped eating and was wobbling around. My friend who is avian veterinarian told me it was probably liver damage due to the meds in the food. So that was the last of me using Medicated chick feed for anything other than chicks. I use flock raiser which btw is exactly what the Holderread's suggest you use.
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Hmm, thanks for that link that is all new news for me. I feel most comfortable with non med food but hey each to there own right?
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more than one way to skin a cat
The chick feed I use is "Turkey Starter".
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Just out of curiosity, whats the brand name on that? and what might one pay for a bag?
Went to store the other day and had to get dumor products because i refused to pay $19 for flock raiser, purina seems like it got higher, IDK, maybe its me.
Just out of curiosity, whats the brand name on that? and what might one pay for a bag?
Went to store the other day and had to get dumor products because i refused to pay $19 for flock raiser, purina seems like it got higher, IDK, maybe its me.
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