Medicated chick food or not?

[suzpyoung]

My new hatches won't be vaccinated, so is it best for them that I feed medicated food? We have a store that sells organic chick starter, and that's what I'd like to use. I'm pretty picky about keeping their living quarters clean.

 

[emzee]

YES!!! I would definately feed them medicated food. We have had several chicks die when we didn't feed them medicated food.

 

[bigchickenman]

Most defiantly feed them medicated feed,especially if you hatched them yourself.I didn't and I lost four out of eight chicks.This time I hatch seventeen out of twenty four and fed them medicated feed and all are just fine and now about three months old.

 

[Momo]

I recommend medicated feed. It's not an antibiotic.

 

[journey11]

Yeah, if they're not vaccinated, you'll have to give medicated food. Cocci is devastating and very easily transmitted. It's not worth losing them all.

I feed mine unmedicated, especially my broilers, and that is why I get the vaccination. A vaccination is preventative and will not taint your meat. Sick chickens needing medicine and antibiotics will, and could even push back your butchering schedule (if applicable) because of necessary withdrawal period. Same with certain drugs and eating the eggs. I also make a point of practicing good sanitation as well. Very important.

Your chick starters are usually medicated (check the label) and when you switch to a grower/developer, you are done with that phase because the medicated starter helps them as they develop their own resistance to cocci. The vaccination does the same, only quicker.

Another thing to consider is that some vaccinations like the one for cocci are only efficable if given before 2 days old, after that, too late to get it. IMO, it's really worth it to get them vaccinated.

 

[gritsar]

I used the medicated. Something I learned here on BYC, I forget who taught me this, Nifty maybe?, is that you can be too clean. They have to be exposed to develop an immunity. The medicated feed prevents their little bodies from being overwhelmed by coccidiosis while they develop their immunity.
My chicks were on the medicated feed AND on the dirt at 2 1/2 weeks old.