Medicated Feed??

[ZANEYchickenguy]

Hello,
I have been feeding my baby chicks medicated feed. When they are older do they still need medicated feed? (When they start laying). Tractor Supply only sells medicated feed for chicks, not adult poultry. Do laying hens need medicated feed?

 

[GC-Raptor]

Do laying hens need medicated feed?

No.
I feed Medicated Start and Grow to chicks for at least 10 weeks, then when bag is empty, I switch to a Non-Medicated Starter-Grower feed.
You can feed Medicated feed till 18 weeks before switching to a Non-Medicated feed. GC

 

[ZANEYchickenguy]

Thank You!!

 

[GC-Raptor]

Thank You!!

Your welcome. GC

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'll copy something I wrote on medicated feed a while back. It may clear up some misconceptions of what medicated feed is and how it should be used.


First you need to know what the "medicated" is in the medicated feed. It should be on the label. Usually it is Amprolium, Amprol, some such product, but until you read the label, you really don't know. Most "medicated' feed from major brands for chicks that will be layers uses Amprolium, but there are a few out there mostly for broilers that use other medicines. I'll assume yours is an Amprolium product, but if it is not, then realize everything I say about it may not apply. And it is possible that the "medicated" is Amprolium AND something else.

Amprol is not an antibiotic. It does not kill anything. It inhibits the protozoa that cause coccidiosis (often called Cocci on this forum) from multiplying in the chicken's system. It does not prevent the protozoa from multiplying; it just slows that multiplication down. There are several different strains of protozoa that can cause Cocci, some more severe than others. Chickens can develop immunity to a specific strain of the protozoa, but that does not give them immunity to all protozoa that cause Cocci. Little bitty tiny baby chicks can develop that immunity easier than older chickens.

It is not a big deal for the chicken’s intestines to contain some of the protozoa that cause Cocci. The problem comes in when the number of those protozoa gets huge. The protozoa can multiply in the chicken’s intestines but also in wet manure. Different protozoa strains have different strengths, but for almost all cases, if you keep the brooder dry, you will not have a problem.

To develop immunity to a specific strain, that protozoa needs to be in the chicks intestines for two or three weeks. The normal sequence is that a chick has the protozoa. It poops and some of the cysts that develop the protozoa come out in the poop. If the poop is slightly damp, those cysts develop and will then develop in the chick's intestines when the chicks eat that poop. This cycle needs go on for a few weeks so all chicks are exposed and they are exposed long enough to develop immunity. A couple of important points here. You do need to watch them to see if they are getting sick. And the key is to keep the brooder dry yet allow some of the poop to stay damp. Not soaking wet, just barely damp. Wet poop can lead to serious problems.

What sometimes happens is that people keep chicks in a brooder and feed them medicated feed while they are in the brooder. Those chicks are never exposed to the Cocci protozoa that lives in the dirt in their run, so they never develop the immunity to it. Then, they are switched to non-medicated feed and put on the ground where they are for the first time exposed to the protozoa. They do not have immunity, they do not have the protection of the medicated feed, so they get sick. Feeding medicated feed while in the brooder was a complete waste.

I do not feed medicated feed. I keep the brooder dry to not allow the protozoa to breed uncontrollably. The third day that they are in the brooder, I take a scoop of dirt from the run and feed it to them so I can introduce the protozoa and they can develop the immunity they need to the strain they need to develop an immunity to. To provide a place for that slightly damp poop, I keep a square of plywood in the dry brooder and let the poop build up on that. I don't lose chicks to Cocci when they hit the ground.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding medicated feed to chicks, whether the protozoa are present or not. It will not hurt them. They can still develop the immunity they need. But unless the protozoa are present, it also does no good.

If you get your chicks vaccinated for Cocci, do not feed medicated feed. It can negate the vaccinations.

 

[Heaven 11]

I am a first time chick owner. I started feeding medicated food with Amprolium from TSC in my brooder to my six chicks that are supposed to be between 1 and 3 weeks old (did not get them from TSC, but from a local hatchery). I have had them for a week and a day. I did not read this before I started with the medicated feed. I am using pine shavings and have completely changed all of of the Iitter one time; not really sure how to change just part of it and it was getting a bit smelly in my bathroom I had wondered about offering them some dirt for a dust bath. After reading your post I am wondering if I should expose them to dirt from the yard where my chicken tractor will be placed? If so, how much and what is the best way to do that? I take it from the article that it really doesn't matter if I continue to feed medicated food. However, if I choose to switch their food to non-medicated, should I then add a probiotic? I want to do whatever is going to give the chicks the best shot at growing up to be healthy layer birds. Thanks in advance for any responses!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I am wondering if I should expose them to dirt from the yard where my chicken tractor will be placed? If so, how much and what is the best way to do that?

I can think if two ways on how to do that. You can take them outside to that area and let them peck at the ground on a regular basis. I don't know where you are so no idea what your weather is like but even if it is fairly cold they can stand to be out there for a while. Just watch them and move them to a warm sport if they act cold. That will help them get acclimated to the weather and might give you some confidence in how well they can handle cold too.

My brooder is in the coop so I don't have to sorry about acclimatizing them. Every three or four days I give them about a 1/4 of a small yogurt cup of dirt from the run. My typical brood is about 20 chicks so it's not a lot per chick.

I take it from the article that it really doesn't matter if I continue to feed medicated food.

Medicated feed with Amprolium will not hurt them. If they are exposed to Coccidiosis it can help keep the number of bugs down so they can gain immunity. If your brooder is wet or fairly damp it will not hurt and might help. I keep my brooder so dry the Coccidiosis bug doesn't have a chance to reproduce in there. By the time mine hit the ground they have the immunity they need.

If your weather turns wet when they leave the brooder and hit the ground medicated feed might help. Since mine already have immunity I don't worry about it.

However, if I choose to switch their food to non-medicated, should I then add a probiotic?

Probiotics have nothing to do with medicated feed. If you want to give them probiotics by all means do. As long as you follow recommendations as to how much I don't think it will hurt anything and might help.