Medicated Feed vs. Un-Medicated Feed and Supplements

[snowhorse]

I want to get some input back on Medicated crumbles for chicks and non medicated.

Does anyone have a strong opinion on either?

I have chicks ranging in age from a little over 6 weeks to 2 weeks. I have them all on medicated crumbles. Most of them are from a hatchery and I have a couple which are from a local woman. The oldest ones are from a local woman, which I am pretty sure were never vaccinated. The youngest ones all have been.

Do you think it is appropriate to have them all on the medicated crumbles? I am using Purina Chick Starter, which says I can keep them on that for 18 weeks, anyone start anything different sooner than the 18 weeks? I would really like to keep things organic, but also don't want any sick birds.

And I am having some intergration issues, with older and younger, and I know they are getting stressed out. Any good supplements in mind that I could feed them for stress?

 

[newchickmom09]

I can not wait to hear the responses to this question. I was going to ask almost the same thing.

 

[Chris623]

I'm a newbie here, but I've a friend up the road from me who makes her living with chickens and turkey. She is into both selling the meat and producing eggs. When I told her I wanted to buy medicated chick starter she literally hit the ceiling. She is strictly organic and knows I want to go the same route. She said to feed those chicks a good, high protein starter (mine are on Manna Pro Gamebird/Show Bird feed) and don't let them have any medicated feed. She said "If they arrive healthy from the hatchery and you raise them healthy, they'll be just fine..............besides, if you want to sell organic eggs, you don't want to have to explain why there is medication in their feed!" She claims over the years she's ended up having healthier birds by NOT feeding medicated.

 

[Puck-Puck]

I'm watching this thread, too.

My chicks arrived healthy from the hatchery, but the organic-friendly feed store handed me medicated chick starter for their first feed. I don't know if this is because I'm new to chickens and they didn't want to take a chance with ME messing up, or whether they know that I'm trying to keep costs down and medicated is cheaper than organic, or they were out of organic...I could simply ask them, I guess. I have them on organic grower feed now--if you can't change the past, put it behind you.

 

[countrybum]

I am also against medicated feed, unless you want your chicks to grow faster, which in the , long run can cause leg and bone weakness.

I use a mix of chick starter/grower and game bird starter/grower crumbles for the first 2 months and I deworm all my chickens every 6 to 8 months.

 

[snowhorse]

Quote:
The grain mill was leaning towards the medicated feed as well. All my chicks are healthy as far as I can tell being a newbie that is.

I dont want or need them to grow faster however and did not know that was part of the medicated feed, which I'm not happy about. So I think when this bag of feed is gone, I'll switch to non medicated. And no worries as far as the coccidiosis? I though the medicated feed was supposed to help prevent that or help build an immunity towards it?

Im curious about the worming. Now do you worm them even if they show no signs of worms? I worm my horses and didn't know if this was similar? (Not as far as administration of the wormer, but like how I have them on a schedule to be wormed as prevention)

Now without them being on medicated feed, do you provide anything else in the water, as far as nutrients or supplements to help there immune systems build while they are so little?

Sorry to ask so many questions, but I really want healthy happy birds

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
How does medicated feed make your chicks grow faster and cause leg and bone weakness?

Chris

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

I'm also curious about the worming. Didn't know I was supposed to worm them. Does everyone do this?

I just found out last week that my chicks were not vaccinated and that the feed I give them is not medicated. I guess that make them organic? I didn't set out to do that; just didn't know that you have to make a special request for vaccination. I'm amazed that the food the feed store sells has ZERO information on the package other than the logo - I had to ask three people at the feed store before someone knew that the food is not medicated.

 

[Tailfeathers]

Quote:
A couple of comments about "the friend up the road" advice:

1) If one looks up the criteria for "organic", if memory serves me correctly, a commercially produced feed would not qualify either.

2) Feeding chicks too much protein may cause other problems altogether. You don't want them growing too fast. Check out "The Chicken Health Handbook" and other threads on BYC.

3) "If they arrive healthy from the hatchery and you raise them healthy, they'll be just fine" is not necessarily true. The primary function of medicated chick starter is to prevent and control Coccidiosis. There are many other diseases that a chick may bring from a hatchery that have incubation periods where the disease would not show up for weeks to months. As for Coccidiosis, all chicks have it. The medicated feed simply keeps the levels down at an appropriate controllable level.

4) besides, if you want to sell organic eggs, you don't want to have to explain why there is medication in their feed!" This is a foolish statement. By the time a bird starts laying eggs, the chicks are long past being fed any medicated feed. No explanation would be necessary because you will have them on Layer Rations well before they begin laying.

To the OP, if you are going to put any of them on medicated feed, then I would recommend putting them all on medicated feed.

You can take them off of medicated feed and switch them over to non-medicated chick starter before 18 weeks. I would only do so if you will be moving them to a breeder that will greatly lessen the propensity that they will be eating their own feces. For example, once the chicks are able to fly out of my initial hatching brooder (a rubbermaid stock tank with wood shaving in the bottom), I move them to the outside brooder which has a screen bottom. And I would only do so then if you have not experienced any bloody stools or such. If you are seeing bloody stools, keep them on the medicated.

Try Rooster Booster for the stress but my recommendation is to separate them out until they are old enough were you can begin to introduce them all and let the final pecking order be established without risk of injury or death.

I hope that helps.

God Bless,

 

[Davaroo]

Feed medicated for the first 8 weeks.