Is it alright to feed my ducks medicated chick feed

[Lingandmingducks]

So I was kind of in a hurry because my friend bought me 2 baby ducks as a way of asking me to prom because I always post on my Snapchat about wanting a duck. Well medicated chicken feed was all I could find, is that okay?

 

[casportpony]

Purina actually make a *medicated* flock raiser:

https://www.purinamills.com/chicken-feed/products/detail/purina-flock-raiser-mp-0125

Purina says this:

The issue here is not so much one of safety as it is one of regulations. Amprolium, the medication present in our medicated chick starter, has never been approved by the FDA for use in waterfowl. Therefore, we cannot legally recommend its use for these birds. However, veterinarians have been using it very successfully off-label for years as a coccidiostat for all kinds of birds, including waterfowl.

The fear of medication for waterfowl dates back to the early days of medicated feed, when sulfa drugs were used. Waterfowl typically eat more than chickens do, so when they ate feed medicated at a concentration that was ideal for chickens, they tended to over-imbibe the medication, which was often fatal. Amprolium is not a sulfa drug and does not have that effect.

Start & Grow is formulated to meet the growth needs of baby chicks until they reach 18 weeks of age. We recommend Start & Grow for chicks and Flock Raiser for waterfowl or mixed flocks. If you feel your waterfowl need medication, consult with your vet to determine what would be best for them.

A study:

Treatment. Various sulphonamide drugs and coccidiostats have been used in the treatment of renal and intestinal coccidiosis of geese. If the geese are to be fed rations which were formulated for other types of poultry, it should be noted that in spite of popular belief to the contrary, waterfowl can be fed rations containing most of the coccidiostats used for chickens. The Veterinary University of Hanover, Germany have specifically reported that the following coccidiostats found in chicken rations are tolerated by waterfowl: amprolium, amprolium-ethopabate, clopidol, clopidol-methylbenzoquate, DOT (zoalene), lasalocid monensin-sodium, narasin, nicarbazin, robenidin, salinomycin and sulfaquinoxaline. They also reported that neither halofuginone nor arprinocid are tolerated by waterfowl and that they could find no information on the effect of giving waterfowl feed containing either decoquinate or maduramicin ammonium.

This is what's in Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks. It says basically the same thing as above.

Source: https://books.google.com/books?id=s...guide to raising ducks medicated feed&f=false


Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks, 2nd Edition

 

[junebuggena]

Won't get into a heated argument with others..Ducklings should never be fed medicated feed for Chicks..They just don't need it..

If it's all that is available, it's perfectly safe to feed. No they don't need the amprolium, but it won't hurt them.

 

[Lingandmingducks]

Won't get into a heated argument with others..Ducklings should never be fed medicated feed for Chicks..They just don't need it..

Thank you, I wouldn’t feed them medicated if they had something else but they don’t

 

[Lingandmingducks]

Thank you it’s much appreciated

 

[casportpony]

@Lingandmingducks, how are your ducklings doing?

 

[Miss Lydia]

What happened to Ming ming?

 

[Jillchapa86]

The new duck pellets by Purina should be fine for most ducks, but some ducks might need supplementation.

Ohhh ok i will loook more in to it thank you so much for time!

 

[casportpony]

Ohhh ok i will loook more in to it thank you so much for time!

You're welcome!

 

[Miss Lydia]

How old are they again?
Can you put down old clean towels they are easy to use for a couple of weeks till they know the difference between shavings and food. TSC has thicker shavings and most feed stores carry horse bedding that is what I use. Towels can work because you can take them out shake wash and reuse.