Medicated feed...? Help!

[max13077]

I have been to five different places in the past two days and none of them have what I usually get as far as feed. I have 25 layers that are going to be 13 weeks old tomorrow. The only feed available is medicated. The chicks had the Coccidiosis vaccine when they were shipped. My concern is, I remember it saying "FEEDING MEDICATED FEED WILL NULLIFY COCCIDIOSIS VACCINE" when I ordered them.

Is it OK to feed them this or will it cause problems. They've been outside running all over heck for better than a month now.

I also have some meat birds that I was thinking of giving the feed to for another week or so. Problems there?

 

[hinkjc]

If they are 13 weeks old, what have you been feeding them all this time? I would guess that nullifying the vaccine now is no longer a concern. Can you get grower ration for them?

Meat birds can have medicated feed without problems.

 

[max13077]

That's the problem. The TSC store where I've been getting my feed for them and the meat birds right along doesn't have any feed. I asked the girl when they would be getting some and she didn't know.

So I went to a couple other places and they were out, or didn't carry finisher. So, I got the medicated stuff.

 

[NYREDS]

We all know how vaccines work right? They fool the body into thinking it has been exposed to a disease so the body produces antibodies to that disease. A medication, in this case a Coccidiostat, is intended to fight a particular disease NOT to interfere with the function of antibodies to that disease.
Short answer-it's fine to feed your vaccinated birds medicated feed.

 

[mstricer]

Purina makes a start and grow non-medicated. I always had to order it. I never had any of my chicks vacinated. as long as you keep everything clean they shouldn't get cococidious. I never lost any chicks. Once they are on layer it is all non-medicated. Once when I forgot to order we subsituded with flock raiser which is also non-med.. I have kept my chickens on the purina line of feed. They are healthy and their eggs are great.