Medicated food for black broilers?

[clkingtx]

Hello,

I have black broilers that have been on a mix of medicated chick starter and gamebird starter(It makes about a 23% mix, 25 lbs med starter to 40 lbs gamebird starter). They are about four weeks old now. They are going outside soon with our pullets, and I was wondering if they can stay on the medicated feed till slaughter time, or do they need off of it before then?

It is only the amprollium(sp?), no antibiotics or anything else.

Thanks a lot.
Carrie

 

[SteveH]

Just a guess , but I believe that when you blended the two feeds you would have reduced the PPM [ parts per million ] of the medication down to the point of it being ineffective . Personally I would cut it from their diets completely .
ETA : Its only a preventative against cocci. , and there should be a withdrawal time stated on the label of the bag it came in . If you feel you need it , it can be purchased in a water soluable form and added to your waters at an effective rate as stated in the instructions from the manufacturer .

 

[clkingtx]

Wow, I hadn't even thought about that! I wonder what their risk is of getting sick once they go outside. The broilers and the pullets are all in our garage right now. They will all go out together today, hopefully. There have not been chickens here for at least 10 years. I don't know if there ever were chickens here, but I am concerned about cocci, since they are still quite young. Is it really important for the pullets to have the medicated feed when they go outside, or will they be ok without it? If not, how long is the withdrawl period for the medicated food for the meatbirds?

Thanks,

Carrie