Layers eating medicated starter ???

[giasmom]

My flock has many differant age groups of chickens in it. I had to move some of the teenagers in with the adults. Now I am putting both layer pellets & starter (medicated) feed in that part of the coop. Will the hens eating the medicated starter effect the eggs in any way ? Will they still be okay to consume ?

 

[MidnightChickenLover]

THEY WILL NOT BE OKAY TO CONSUME! It will also effect laying due to different proteins...

 

[enola]

..... and there is not enough calcium for the laying hens in the starter feed, not good for hens or egg shells .....

 

[kuntrygirl]

I didn't know that. Good information to know. I have the same problem.
Uh Oh.

 

[Judy]

I'd like to see a reference for the problem with eating eggs laid by hens eating medicated starter. I suppose it could produce a thiamine deficiency in the person eating the eggs.

My concern is the chicks eating the layer. The extra calcium in the layer can damage their kidneys.

The usual recommendation on here is to feed everyone a starter/grower and offer oyster shell separately. The idea is that the hens have calcium available and the chicks will eat little or none of the oyster shell. However, hens really need both layer and oyster shell. And perhaps the starter/grower in this situation needs to be unmedicated.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Well what about this situation......... This is my situation frequently. You have a hen thats has just hatched baby chicks and they are in a contained/closed in area (for safety reasons ) where the mama hen cannot get out. The feed that you have is the starter/grower feed for the babies and this is what the mama hen is eating. So does this make it bad for the mama hen? You can't put regular feed in just for the mama because the chicks need the starter/grower. So what do u do? Take the mama out when it's feeding time and allow her to eat her own feed? I'm confused.

 

[Judy]

Quote:
You let her eat what the chicks eat; it is what the chicks need and will not hurt the hen. She isn't laying while raising chicks. As stated above, if the group has access to oyster shell, the chicks should eat little or none of it anyway, so you can start building up her calcium this way when the time for her to kick the babies out to the flock is approaching.

 

[giasmom]

Quote:
DDAWN What & how would it cause a thiamine deficiency ? Help me to understand, Please.

Thanks to all for the info.