Medicated or non medicated?

[kdolly87]

Just out of curiosity, who all here gives medicated or non medicated feed??

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

i tend to give non-medicated feed when i have to buy it. I grow most of their food, but i am one of those people who like feeding my birds naturally

 

[GypsyChick89]

Is there such thing as medicated layer?

 

[CliffB]

I did their first bag medicated and non medicated after that.

 

[GypsyChick89]

I fed medicated all they way up un-till they were just about ready to lay.

 

[David1998]

I fed medicated feed up until 16 weeks.

 

[lazy gardener]

Medicated feed has Amprolium, which is a thiamine blocker. It blocks uptake of thiamine in the coccidiosis organism, so it can't replicate. It also blocks thiamine uptake in the chick. Coccidiosis is in the environment everywhere. My preference is to NEVER give my chicks medicated feed. In my area, that often means buying multi-flock raiser, because I can't buy unmedicated chick starter. The feed store employees will spend a lot of wasted time telling me that my chicks will all die if they don't get medicated feed. I've never had a chick with coccidiosis. They all start with fermented feed, and are exposed to the soil organisms within the first few days of life, so they develop a healthy gut and a natural immunity to the coccidiosis that is common to my soil.

 

[kdolly87]

i tend to give non-medicated feed when i have to buy it. I grow most of their food, but i am one of those people who like feeding my birds naturally

That's so cool! What do you grow?

 

[kdolly87]

Medicated feed has Amprolium, which is a thiamine blocker.  It blocks uptake of thiamine in the coccidiosis organism, so it can't replicate.  It also blocks thiamine uptake in the chick.  Coccidiosis is in the environment everywhere.  My preference is to NEVER give my chicks medicated feed.  In my area, that often means buying multi-flock raiser, because I can't buy unmedicated chick starter.  The feed store employees will spend a lot of wasted time telling me that my chicks will all die if they don't get medicated feed.  I've never had a chick with coccidiosis.  They all start with fermented feed, and are exposed to the soil organisms within the first few days of life, so they develop a healthy gut and a natural immunity to the coccidiosis that is common to my soil.

That's a really good plan!! I've been giving just regular grass to eat along with their food so they get some natural as well.

 

[cafarmgirl]

There is one thing to remember with medicated feed. The amount of amprolium in the feed is very, very low. So low that many chicks on medicated still can come down with a case of coccidiosis when they are put outside. So, while it certainly never hurts to use it, it's benefits are debatable. I have found it works just as well to feed non-medicated starter, expose chicks a little at a time while they are still in the brooder so they can build resistence and just be familiar with the earliest signs of coccidiosis and be ready to treat if necessary.