Ivory the Rooster: Day 665 *updates*

[77horses]

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What I am wondering is is there something wrong with medicated chick feed? Why is it "medicated"? Is it not good for some chicks? Is it only used for chicks who need the "medicated" part of it? Can ALL chicks eat it without problems?
Thanks!

There is nothing wrong with "medicated" chicks starter. It's all I use. The medication in it is amprol/amprolium which is a preventative to help keep them from getting sick with coccidiosis.

OK just making sure it wasn't only for chicks that were sick or something, because of the "medicated" part. Thanks

 

[My chicken is cuter]

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No offense taken! I agree with that, kinda.

She has more of a vulture-ish beak, I think. It's rather pointy and long, like a crow or vulture would have. So yes, her beak is a little funny-looking, but I still love her and she's my unique baby chick!

LOL and she's still adorable!

Phew! That's a relief.

It's not ugly, in fact it's actually kind of cute. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't going insane.

 

[journey11]

Quote:
What I am wondering is is there something wrong with medicated chick feed? Why is it "medicated"? Is it not good for some chicks? Is it only used for chicks who need the "medicated" part of it? Can ALL chicks eat it without problems?
Thanks!

There is nothing wrong with "medicated" chicks starter. It's all I use. The medication in it is amprol/amprolium which is a preventative to help keep them from getting sick with coccidiosis.

Nothing wrong with it...I just don't use it for my chicks because I also get my Cornish X meat birds and start them at the same time (and I don't want them eating it). But if you're not going to use medicated feed, most definitely you will want them vaccinated for cocci........without one or the other, they are very likely to get it and die.

 

[77horses]

Quote:
There is nothing wrong with "medicated" chicks starter. It's all I use. The medication in it is amprol/amprolium which is a preventative to help keep them from getting sick with coccidiosis.

Nothing wrong with it...I just don't use it for my chicks because I also get my Cornish X meat birds and start them at the same time (and I don't want them eating it). But if you're not going to use medicated feed, most definitely you will want them vaccinated for cocci........without one or the other, they are very likely to get it and die.

"very likely"? Then how come of all the chickens we've had, and we've raised them all without medicated chick starter or being vaccinated, we've never had cocci in any of them? Are we just lucky?

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

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Nothing wrong with it...I just don't use it for my chicks because I also get my Cornish X meat birds and start them at the same time (and I don't want them eating it). But if you're not going to use medicated feed, most definitely you will want them vaccinated for cocci........without one or the other, they are very likely to get it and die.

"very likely"? Then how come of all the chickens we've had, and we've raised them all without medicated chick starter or being vaccinated, we've never had cocci in any of them? Are we just lucky?

Most likely, is an over statement.
We do not vax or medicate for anything.
We use probiotics though. All things natural.

 

[catdaddy66]

A diet of cracked corn has very low protein levels. They need 19-20% protein level in their diet and corn has about 2.5%, I think. Without protein and amino acids (proteins building blocks) they cannot make tissues like feathers, muscle, ligament, tendon, organs... Get the chick a better protein mix and see if she gets healthier, but also give plenty of H2O to flush her kidneys. High protein levels w/o H2O can damage kidneys.

 

[77horses]

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Thanks.

 

[fancbrd4me02]

77, I wouldn't worry about the medication in chick starter/grower. I think it makes sense to use it for baby chicks because there are some germs that can wipe out a vulnerable baby. If you really don't want to use medicated starter/grower than ask your feed store to order you non-medicated. I believe there are some companies that make it. If your feed store can't order it, look for other feed stores that might carry the non-medicated brands. Either way, chicks have to be fed starter/grower while they are going thru rapid growth. I only feed corn or scratch as a treat in the winter to adult birds only.

 

[77horses]

This afternoon I'm planning on going and getting a bag of grower, since she's a little old for the starter, right? I think it's 6 weeks that you can switch them to grower?


Anyway, today Ivory's crop was still pretty large from all that egg she ate last night. She is active and acting normal, and I still have a little bit of ground corn on the floor of her brooder box that she can peck at, but I'm also going to put some egg in her food dish for her to eat. This is just until I get the grower today.

I also brought her outside because it's a beautiful day today. She walked around and pecked at the dirt and probably ate some of it, which should be good for digesting (like the grit). Then I brought her back inside because it's warm, but still has a little chill in the air, and she started shivering and her feet were cold. So I brought her in and she is now taking a quick nap.

Is there medicated grower as well? Or is that just for starter?

 

[PunkinPeep]

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Did she sleep last night? Or did she just sit up and eat? If she slept and spent some time not eating, that crop should have gone down.

Where i live, what is most often sold is a medicated starter/grower. But with her size, if you have a choice, i would give her the starter.

However, please watch her crop. Ideally, her crop should completely empty during the night when she sleeps. If it is slow, i would keep her on boiled egg yolks - the yolks because they're more easily absorbed - and see if that improves before feeding her too much grower or starter. I'm very concerned about her crop.

I couldn't figure out if you were for or against medicated feed. The only unmedicated feed for young birds that i have been able to find in my area, is game bird grower. It has very high protein in comparison to chick starter, but she might need that right now to help her catch up. It's a judgment call. I don't worry about feeding mine the extra protein because it's really only a supplement to their free range diet.