Medicated feed to un-mediated and back?

[ckelley]

Hello,

I had my chicks on medicated feed for the first 7 weeks. I sent my husband to pick up more feed and he got the Un-medicated- which I didn't notice right away. Can I switch back or will it cause issues with my birds? They are 11 weeks now (big bag).

 

[junebuggena]

The 'medication' in medicated starter is amprolium. It's a thiamine blocker that helps prevent the coccidia protozoa from overwhelming a young bird's immune system, and gives them a chance to develop resistance naturally. If your chicks have been exposed to soil for a few weeks now, you probably don't have to worry about them contracting coccidia at this point. They have likely built up a resistance to the organisms in the soil by now. Switching to unmedicated feed will be just fine.
I only offer it to my chicks during the first 2 weeks they are outside.

 

[ckelley]

Excellent, Thanks!

I will save the bag I just bought for my chicks in the spring and keep feeding my girls the unmedicated.

 

[lazy gardener]

Excellent, Thanks!

I will save the bag I just bought for my chicks in the spring and keep feeding my girls the unmedicated.

Are you saying you bought a bag this spring, and plan to use it later? Chicken feed has a limited shelf life, after which it becomes stale and the nutrients are no longer there. A well known poultry nutrition expert states that feed is on it's way to becoming stale 42 days after milling.

 

[ckelley]

I didn't know that.

I just bought a bag of medicated and I will be getting Chicks in June. It's not opened, so I'll just return it. I just wanted to save myself the hassle.