Hens got into Medicated Chick Starter Feed !???

[PandoraChick]

Thank you for the replies. Good idea to feed the chicks the eggs so they are not wasted..Or perhaps my raw fed dog. We get about 12-15 eggs a day..Maybe i will just give them to my mean neighbor, hehe.Im only KIDDING!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Yeah, the chicks are already on medicated feed which is why I suggested giving them the eggs.

People also say they drink diet soft drinks every day and they're still here. I wouldn't touch the stuff.

 

[SigningChickens]

Can I get clarification...I'm a noob and my hen that is supposed to lay has been eating the chick food with medication in it. Are you saying it will or won't affect the eggs. I really wanted to eat that first egg!!!
I will find a way to keep her off that food from now on.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Pullets should be switched from medicated by 16 weeks at the latest.
I don't feed it at all but use an unmedicated game bird feed or a poultry grower - anything with higher protein and low calcium in the range of 1%. Then when I get the first egg I switch to a layer feed.
I'd say if you stop the medicated now and you don't get that first egg for a week it'll be fine.

 

[Nonnie195]

Does the medicated feed hurt the hen? I am under the impression that the medicated has small amounts of cocci to help the chicks start building immunities.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

No, medicated feed has amprolium or similar thiamine blocker. That prevents the coccidia protozoa from developing.

 

[Nonnie195]

So, if I want my chicks to have the medicated feed, it will be ok for the hen? I could see it working the first couple of weeks or so when they are isolated, but if I let the mother hen and chicks "integrate" with the other hens, then what do I do about the feed?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

For me, I don't use it at all. Chicks in a brooder can be protected by keeping the bedding bone dry (which prevents the protozoa from completing their life cycle) and keeping feeders at least half full (limits chicks from eating their own feces).

For chicks with a hen, she will teach them what and where to eat. If they aren't densely confined, they will get a small dose and be fine.
Closely confined birds in contact with moist soil can be harmed by too large of a dose.

 

[Nonnie195]

You say "closely confined." My hen and soon to be chicks are in an area of approximately 28 square feet. There is a separate outside door (although the section outside is not separated at this time), but it is very cold here. Today's wind chill is in the 20's. Is that area too confined? At what point should the chicks be allowed to venture out when it is so cold outside? I try to keep the coop decently warm. (At first it was not for the chickens, but for me when I went in the coop to clean and check on them. I wanted it above 32). Now I am concerned that the coop will be too cold for the new chicks.