medicated chick starter

[Groucho]

My hen is setting eggs and will hatch soon, should the hen eat medicated chick starter along with the chicks or not do medicated? Thanks

 

[dheltzel]

It won't hurt her to eat medicated feed. It may not be of much use for the chicks however, "conventional wisdom" hold that chicks raised by hens acquire the hen's immunity against coccidosis, making the medication unnecessary.

So, it really doesn't matter much either way. If you use medicated feed, you might want to add some vitamins to their water to counteract the negative effects of the medication.

 

[cafarmgirl]

I agree that it doesn't matter if the hen eats medicated starter. I don't know that I'd bother with it with hen raised chicks, I just keep a close eye on mine for symptoms of coccidiosis and treat if needed. The amount of amprolium in medicated starter is so low that chicks often brew a case of coccidiosis anyway so to me, it's value is questionable. It certainly doesn't hurt but I think your fine to feed either.

Medicated starter really does not have any negative effects on chicks as far as needing addtional vitamins. Adding extra vitamins may actually decrease the efficacy of the medicated starter since it basically works by starving the protozoa of thiamin, but it does not affect the chicks. But sometimes to much added vitamins on top of a balanced feed like starter is not a good thing either. Moderation is key with vitamins, I use a water soluble vitamin but only twice a week.