Good Morning, I am a new chicken own as of April 2014. I had been feeding my chicks medicated grower feed. I decided to switch them over to organic feed about two weeks ago. At about that time, one of my chickens surprised me by laying an egg. Since I had just transitioned the chick to non-medicated feed, is the egg safe to eat? Thanks!
Is the medicine in the medicated feed Amprolium? It probably is but do you trust your health on a “probably”? Check the feed bag and see what the medicine is. If it is Amprolium, the government (USDA) gives no withdrawal time to eat the eggs. That means they say you can eat the eggs as soon as you stop feeding the Amprolium in the dosage in medicated feed. Purina also says there is no withdrawal time, but they are probably just mimicking the USDA. If you are uncomfortable don’t eat it, but the experts that have tested them say they are safe to eat if it is the dosage of Amprolium in medicated feed.
Do you still have the bag? It will say on the bag if it isn't ok to eat the eggs. I believe that it is considered safe to eat. Also a two week gap should be plenty of time for the egg to be safe.
What was the feed medicated with? Amprolium - which goes by the trade names Corid and Amprovine, Amprolium, Amprol, Anticoccid and is a thiamine analog, competitively inhibits the active transport of thiamine (B1). Amprolium is used in the prevention and treatment of coccidiosis. (No withdrawal time) Bacitracin - Bacitracin can also go by the names Bacitracin Methylene Disalicylate and BMD. Bacitracin in Broiler and Replacement Chickens is an aid in prevention and control of necrotic enteritis caused by Clostridium perfringens susceptible to bacitracin methylene disalicylate. (No withdrawal time)
