Medicated or non medicated?

[Chris09]

Chris, I've never seen medicated feed at my feed stores that contains anything other than Amprolium. Buyer beware. Read your labels. I'll stick to natural means, enhance my flock's immune systems, and allow them to develop immunity to the organisms in my own soil in the time frame that they were intended to do so. There is no right or wrong way to raise chicks: Medicated feed vs. non-medicated. Just make an informed decision which is right for your situation and your comfort level.

Just because a feed store does not sell it doesn't mean that it's not available.

As far as feeding a Medicated or Non-Medicated feed,, I feed a Non-Medicated feed BUT I treat for coccidiocide in there drinking water. I have found that in my area chicks/birds do much better when treated for coccidicide since chickens never really grow a immunity to a organism/ parasite that is feeding off them.

 

[kdolly87]

Very true i have NEVER fed medicated feed and NONE of my chicks have ever died from coccidiosis. I like to feed my chickens as naturally as i can and the company (Highland Naturals) we get our feed from for our layers and broilers (meat birds) dosnt even offer medicated feed. I used to do fermented food for a while but decided it was to much of a pain and i didn't have chickens drop dead after word from coccidiosis so i wasn't worried. On my show birds however i do use a fermented feed for the first month and a half of life.

Yeah the fermented feed sounds like a pain in the booty!! Haha! Oh show chickens! I bet they're gorgeous. I'm just wanting fresh organic eggs and some feathered friends.

 

[Madviolin]

Yeah the fermented feed sounds like a pain in the booty!! Haha! Oh show chickens! I bet they're gorgeous. I'm just wanting fresh organic eggs and some feathered friends.

Yeah its a pain alright. XD (at least i think it is) And I hope others will think the same about my show chickens. (hopefully the judge at a show thinks they are gorgeous too!!) Our family started out as just wanting fresh eggs and occasionally fresh meat but then I discovered old english game bantams and fell in love with the breed. And my little hobby just took off from there.

 

[Madviolin]

Yeah its a pain alright. XD (at least i think it is) And I hope others will think the same about my show chickens. (hopefully the judge at a show thinks they are gorgeous too!!) Our family started out as just wanting fresh eggs and occasionally fresh meat but then I discovered old english game bantams and fell in love with the breed. And my little hobby just took off from there.

a friend of mine actually makes it and sells it to me.

 

[jerrey]

leafy greens like spring mix and romaine lettuce, tomatoes, melons, and fallen apples are their favorites. They also get clippings from the people garden, and also get a lot of food from foraging...i also grow corn and millet. I supplement with a little bit of layer pellets for the chickens...if i don't, the egg production drops a lot. Ducks are better at keeping up with production on simple homegrown foods. During the winter i usually have to buy local wheat berries, which i like to grow into fodder for them not that i have like 60 birds

my chicken really like kale I grow it in my garden when spring gets here

 

[JanetMarie]

The chicks here are hatched under broody moms. They are given avian specific pro-biotic in their drinking water and organic food, which is non-medicated. Medication is for the sick, not the healthy.

 

[NorthGAChick]

My game hen hatched chicks now in the winter. (The poppa is a small bantam size black and brown chicken with feathers all the way down over his feet) She hatched six and they all have feathers on their feet but no blue-green feet like their momma. They are 4 weeks old today and have been inside. I have them on non-medicated non-gmo starter. I wasn't going to do medicated starter until I put them outside. Is there some point I should switch them over? At what point can they go outside since they are little now, will I have to wait the whole 20 weeks? I am in NE GA just had temps down to -5 our winters are cold. Never hatched chicks before or had chicks in the winter.

 

[jerrey]

Just because a feed store does not sell it doesn't mean that it's not available.

As far as feeding a Medicated or Non-Medicated feed,, I feed a Non-Medicated feed BUT I treat for coccidiocide in there drinking water. I have found that in my area chicks/birds do much better when treated for coccidicide since chickens never really grow a immunity to a organism/ parasite that is feeding off them.

that is what I do 1x a month what do you do

 

[Chris09]

that is what I do 1x a month what do you do

Are you asking, what do I use?
If so I use Amprolium.

 

[microchick]

My game hen hatched chicks now in the winter. (The poppa is a small bantam size black and brown chicken with feathers all the way down over his feet) She hatched six and they all have feathers on their feet but no blue-green feet like their momma. They are 4 weeks old today and have been inside. I have them on non-medicated non-gmo starter. I wasn't going to do medicated starter until I put them outside. Is there some point I should switch them over? At what point can they go outside since they are little now, will I have to wait the whole 20 weeks? I am in NE GA just had temps down to -5 our winters are cold. Never hatched chicks before or had chicks in the winter.

Congratulations on the new additions to the family. What a bunch of cuties they are.

I've been reading this thread with interest. Things have certainly changed since I last raised chicks and now that I'm looking at getting my new flock started this spring (8 Buff Orps and 4 Bantamsordered and paid for) I'm trying to catch up on what has changed. Since I'm buying from a private local breeder I plan to ask them what they do starting their chicks out right. Back in the day, cicks were put in a box under a brood light and fed starter mix until they feathered out and then they were put out in the coop and were on their own. The only time we ever lost a chick was when a young pullet managed to knock a screen over that crushed her. Not a bad record. Chickens were not fed medicated anything. They were fat and sassy. Nobody was sick or wormy when we butchered a few. My preference is to go as naturally as possible with my new flock. I would prefer for them to build up their immunity naturally over medication.

With that thought in mind at what age will they tolerate the "clup of dirt and grass" that was suggested earlier?