I think I messed up. How do I fix it?

[YakiraAvigayil]

I think I messed up. They vaccinated my chicks before shipping them. I fed them medicated feed the first week. Then I read that I may have counteracted their vaccination. Are my chicks safe now? What can I do now?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Vaccinated for what specifically? Coccidiosis, Marek's?

What type of medicated feed?

If it was for coccidiosis and the feed was medicated with amprolium, yes it nullifies it. Shouldn't harm them but it means they're no longer protected by the vaccine. I imagine you'd need to treat with a higher dosage of a coccidiostat if they happen to get infected, but not 100% sure on that.

 

[YakiraAvigayil]

Vaccinated for both. So I would just wait to see if they get infected?

 

[gtaus]

I don't order vaccinated chicks and don't feed them medicated chick starter. I have never had your issue to deal with. I did find this info online....

Can’t Be Used With Vaccine​

Some day-old chicks get vaccinated against coccidiosis by the hatchery they come from. And if you were to feed them the medicated feed on top of this, it could negate each other. So before feeding a medicated feed to your chicks, check that your breeder hasn’t already vaccinated. While it won’t give your chickens any defects, it will take away all protection.

Full article here: Medicated Chicken Feed Pros And Cons

From what I read, feeding your chicks medicated feed probably took away all protection from the initial vaccination, but it should not cause any harm. Essentially, you might now have chicks without vaccination protection, but that is all I order anyway, unvaccinated chicks. Where I live, we order our chicks without vaccinations and feed them non-medicated chick starter.

Maybe someone can tell you if you should immediately switch over to non medicated chick starter, or if the vaccination protection has already been negated, then maybe just continue with your current medicated feed.

If you don't get an answer from the BYC community fast enough, you might give a call to the hatchery that vaccinated your chicks, tell them your situation, and ask how best to proceed at this point. Please update the thread on what you do in this situation. Might be informative to others. Best wishes.

 

[YakiraAvigayil]

I only fed them the medicated for the first week. A couple of days ago I started feeding them and organic chick feed. Maybe I should go back to the medicated? At this point I'm really not sure. But these babies are so sweet and I don't want anything to happen to them. Note: I ordered seven hens and I have at least one if not possibly two roosters geez

 

[rosemarythyme]

Best case scenario, they don't pick up enough coccidiosis to affect them, so nothing happens. Worst case scenario, you might need to treat with Corid. I'd recommend having some on hand, or figuring out where you can get it quickly if needed.

As far as the feed, I'd just pick one feed or the other (do not mix as that dilutes down the amount of coccidiostat). And just to clarify, if you are in the US and planning to sell eggs as organic, the chicks must be on organic feed from the start (in addition to being certified and all that). If these are just for eggs for your own use and "organic enough" is fine with you, then you can use both conventional and organic if that fits your own needs.