Medicated chick feed or no?

[VigilanteFarms]

Is it better to feed medicated chick starter or not to? Do you give it for just a certain amount of time?

 

[Mamatomany123]

I've never fed medicated feed and have never had a sick chick. Were yours vaccinated. If yes then dont feed it

 

[VigilanteFarms]

I've never fed medicated feed and have never had a sick chick. Were yours vaccinated. If yes then dont feed it

No they're not vaccinated

 

[Mamatomany123]

No they're not vaccinated

Ok, so it will be up to you. I dont believe mine were vaccinated either (got them from tractor supply) but, like I said, ive never fed medicated feed. They're now 11 weeks old, healthy, and growing like weeds.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'll copy something I wrote a few years back. It might help you with your question.

First you need to know what the "medicated" is in the medicated feed. It should be on the label. Usually it is Amprolium, Amprol, some such product, but until you read the label, you really don't know. Most "medicated' feed from major brands for chicks that will be layers uses Amprolium, but there are a few out there mostly for broilers that use other medicines. I'll assume yours is an Amprolium product, but if it is not, then realize everything I say about it may not apply. And it is possible that the "medicated" is Amprolium AND something else.

Amprolium is not an antibiotic. It does not kill anything. It inhibits the protozoa that cause coccidiosis (often called Cocci on this forum) from multiplying in the chicken's system. It does not prevent the protozoa from multiplying; it just slows that multiplication down. There are several different strains of protozoa that can cause Cocci, some more severe than others. Chickens can develop immunity to a specific strain of the protozoa, but that does not give them immunity to all protozoa that cause Cocci.

It is not a big deal for the chicken’s intestines to contain some of the protozoa that cause Cocci. The problem comes in when the number of those protozoa gets huge. The protozoa can multiply in the chicken’s intestines but also in wet manure. Different protozoa strains have different strengths, but for almost all cases, if you keep the brooder dry, you will not have a problem.

To develop immunity to a specific strain, that protozoa needs to be in the chicks intestines for two or three weeks. The normal sequence is that a chick has the protozoa. It poops and some of the cysts that develop the protozoa come out in the poop. If the poop is slightly damp, those cysts develop and will then develop in the chick's intestines when the chicks eat that poop. This cycle needs go on for a few weeks so all chicks are exposed and they are exposed long enough to develop immunity. A couple of important points here. You do need to watch them to see if they are getting sick. And the key is to keep the brooder dry yet allow some of the poop to stay damp. Not soaking wet, just barely damp. Wet poop can lead to serious problems.

What sometimes happens is that people keep chicks in a brooder and feed them medicated feed while they are in the brooder. Those chicks are never exposed to the Cocci protozoa that lives in the dirt in their run, so they never develop the immunity to it. Then, they are switched to non-medicated feed and put on the ground where they are for the first time exposed to the protozoa. They do not have immunity, they do not have the protection of the medicated feed, so they get sick. Feeding medicated feed while in the brooder was a complete waste.

I do not feed medicated feed. I keep the brooder dry to not allow the protozoa to breed uncontrollably. The third day that they are in the brooder, I take a scoop of dirt from the run and feed it to them so I can introduce the protozoa and they can develop the immunity they need to the strain they need to develop an immunity to. To provide a place for that slightly damp poop, I keep a square of plywood in the dry brooder and let the poop build up on that. I don't lose chicks to Cocci when they hit the ground.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding medicated feed to chicks, whether the protozoa are present or not. It will not hurt them. They can still develop the immunity they need. But unless the protozoa are present, it also does no good.

If you get your chicks vaccinated for Cocci, do not feed medicated feed. It can negate the vaccinations.

 

[VigilanteFarms]

I'll copy something I wrote a few years back. It might help you with your question.

First you need to know what the "medicated" is in the medicated feed. It should be on the label. Usually it is Amprolium, Amprol, some such product, but until you read the label, you really don't know. Most "medicated' feed from major brands for chicks that will be layers uses Amprolium, but there are a few out there mostly for broilers that use other medicines. I'll assume yours is an Amprolium product, but if it is not, then realize everything I say about it may not apply. And it is possible that the "medicated" is Amprolium AND something else.

Amprolium is not an antibiotic. It does not kill anything. It inhibits the protozoa that cause coccidiosis (often called Cocci on this forum) from multiplying in the chicken's system. It does not prevent the protozoa from multiplying; it just slows that multiplication down. There are several different strains of protozoa that can cause Cocci, some more severe than others. Chickens can develop immunity to a specific strain of the protozoa, but that does not give them immunity to all protozoa that cause Cocci.

It is not a big deal for the chicken’s intestines to contain some of the protozoa that cause Cocci. The problem comes in when the number of those protozoa gets huge. The protozoa can multiply in the chicken’s intestines but also in wet manure. Different protozoa strains have different strengths, but for almost all cases, if you keep the brooder dry, you will not have a problem.

To develop immunity to a specific strain, that protozoa needs to be in the chicks intestines for two or three weeks. The normal sequence is that a chick has the protozoa. It poops and some of the cysts that develop the protozoa come out in the poop. If the poop is slightly damp, those cysts develop and will then develop in the chick's intestines when the chicks eat that poop. This cycle needs go on for a few weeks so all chicks are exposed and they are exposed long enough to develop immunity. A couple of important points here. You do need to watch them to see if they are getting sick. And the key is to keep the brooder dry yet allow some of the poop to stay damp. Not soaking wet, just barely damp. Wet poop can lead to serious problems.

What sometimes happens is that people keep chicks in a brooder and feed them medicated feed while they are in the brooder. Those chicks are never exposed to the Cocci protozoa that lives in the dirt in their run, so they never develop the immunity to it. Then, they are switched to non-medicated feed and put on the ground where they are for the first time exposed to the protozoa. They do not have immunity, they do not have the protection of the medicated feed, so they get sick. Feeding medicated feed while in the brooder was a complete waste.

I do not feed medicated feed. I keep the brooder dry to not allow the protozoa to breed uncontrollably. The third day that they are in the brooder, I take a scoop of dirt from the run and feed it to them so I can introduce the protozoa and they can develop the immunity they need to the strain they need to develop an immunity to. To provide a place for that slightly damp poop, I keep a square of plywood in the dry brooder and let the poop build up on that. I don't lose chicks to Cocci when they hit the ground.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding medicated feed to chicks, whether the protozoa are present or not. It will not hurt them. They can still develop the immunity they need. But unless the protozoa are present, it also does no good.

If you get your chicks vaccinated for Cocci, do not feed medicated feed. It can negate the vaccinations.

Thank you! Excellent information!

 

[Trisseh]

Your setup will make a big difference in whether it would be helpful to you or not. Since I’m heavy on the cows, I’ll use them as an example haha.

let’s take 2 imaginary beef herds (or in this case, compare the 2 my boss owned!)

beef herd #1: calves in winter, cows in tight quarters with many of them in the same space for an extended period of time. Pairs stay in the barn for 1-2 weeks in separate pens and a group pen, usually 3-4 pairs in a ~50’ long pen. (High stocking density!)

beef herd #2: calves in spring, on pasture. Cows only brought into the barn if a problem. Cows spread out across a large paddock. (Low stocking density.)

In both of these herds, the calves sometimes need to be treated for coccidia. Beef herd #1 has a higher incidence because calves are exposed to a higher level than the calves in beef herd #2, since they are in close quarters, in an area where there have already been many cow/calf pairs shedding the coccidia.

high stocking density, combined with the larger turnover in the same pens, means these calves are challenged much more than the calves in the low density, low turnover situation in herd #2.

so to apply this to our chicks.

the more chicks we have in a smaller space, with more birds coming through, even with cleaning in between, are at a higher risk than those that are stocked less densely. Multiple ages at one time can also have an effect. We had a couple calves that were in the group pen for a month and a lot of the younger calves then were affected and had to be treated. That older calf had been eating who knows what off the floor and walls for those 4 weeks, and then shed copious amounts of it back into the environment, which the younger calves then ingested.

soooo brooder cleanliness, stocking density, and planning for various age groups all have a part to play in whether or not it would be good for your birds or not.

One last thought; it seems each year is different - outside at least, environmental conditions change and are either favourable or unfavourable to the Protozoa. Sometimes there are none having issues. And sometimes half the calf crop needs to be treated. If you have had no issues and continue to have no issues, continue with what you’re doing!

apologies for the lonnnng post.