Medicated or not??

[canesisters]

I'm getting a variety of chicks this Sat. at the Gilmanor swap (at least I HOPE that I am). I've been getting all prepared - brooder, feeders, waterers, lights, feed etc.
Yesterday I was at the grocery store and saw 2 chicken magazines - TWO! One of them promised an article on being an expert brooder. I was, of course, beyond excited. I read it carefully - learned that my square brooder box is going to get most of my chicks crushed in the corners - learned that my white light bulb is going to make my chicks neurotic - learned that my waterer is probably going to drown them - and learned that whatever I do, more important than anything else, I must never never feed medicated chick starter.

Ok - poster board to round off the corners of the box
Ok - red bulb to save my chicks tiny physiques
Ok - marbles in the waterer so it's only a fraction of an inch deep
But the feed??? I though I was SUPPOSED to feed medicated! I've got 25lbs of medicated starter! Why in the world would I NOT want to feed it?????!!!????

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

Well, supposedly, on a non-medicated chick starter diet, the chicks will grow faster. And with medicated, they won't grow as fast, but they will still reach their size. Your checklist is looking good

 

[leadwolf1]

I have always fed medicated starter and have had great luck with it. I'm not sure why the article would say this since it is a great food. I wouldn't let this worry you...

 

[cockadoodle]

Dont worry about it. Seriously... Go with your gut. millions of birds have been raised on medicated, billions im thinking have not. will this be what matters in your flock? Doubtful i think and in a couple months, you wont care either.

 

[cgmccary]

Quote:
Medicated feed or not? This is one of those things where there is not a wrong way. Folks that have ever experienced an outbreak of Cocci will probably always err on the side of using medicated starter. It is probably wiser to use medicated feed for brooder raised chicks & if these are your first ones. I do not use medicated feed because (1) my chicks are raised outside on the ground from day one so they don't need it; (2) the starter I use is high protein game starter and not available to me in medicated form and (3) I have not had a bad experience with cocci.

 

[Nsampsel]

OK...so I've done EVERYTHING WRONG according to your article EXCEPT the feed. My brooder has corners, my lightbulb is a plain old every day household 100 watter, no marbles in my waterer...and guess what??? The only 2 chicks I've lost had nothing to do with any of those issues. I lost 2 bantums right at the beginning because my ducks were in with them & got them all wet. I have been feeding non-medicated because I have ducks & even layers currently laying all eating the same feed (I have oyster shell set out for the layers)...Purina Flock Raiser. Tomorrow when I go get more feed I will pick up a bag of scratch grain as well for the birds who are already out in the coop. Other than that, until the majority of my birds hit 18 weeks (which will probably be a while since I just got more 2 weekends ago & am considering getting more tomorrow if they are in when I go to get feed...CHICKEN MATH VICTIM!!!!), looks like everyone will be eating baby food

 

[hollyk]

Frankly, if hatching and brooding chicks was as difficult as most of the articles make it out to be, the mother hen herself couldn't get it done. The chicks will let you know if they need something- they get loud. I use medicated feed because that is what is readily available. I have had very good success and any deaths that did occur did not come from the feed. Enjoy this process, it really is pretty simple and fun!

 

[canesisters]

Thanks everyone.

I know that I'm over-thinking this, but I've been waiting a decade to do this and I SOOO want it to go well.

Another question. Since I'm getting them from a swap meet - I expect that they will be a variety of ages. What would be the widest spread of ages that you would keep together? I'm PLANNING for chicks 1-2 weeks old. But it IS a swap and I may end up with some a good bit older than others. Right now I only have the one brooder. I guess that if I end up with babies that have to be kept seperated, I could staple some wire down the middle of the box (it's about 3' x 5') and add a second light - one at each end, with the middle becoming the 'cool zone'. ?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't have experience mixing chicks at different ages in a brooder so I won't comment on that. If you do divide the brooder, you can use one light source in the middle instead of two on the ends. You don't have to keep that warm area any specific temperature. it just has to be warm enough and with enough room and ventilation that the rest of the area cools off so they can find their comfort zone. The temperature does not have to be that precise.

Remember that a whole lot of those articles are written by people just like the people on this forum. They are talking about their own experiences. Those don't always apply to everyone else and sometimes the information is just wrong. The people that publish thiose magazines are not always experts that know when the information is right or wrong. A lot of the time it is good information, but a lot of the time it does not apply to my situation and occasionally I see something that does not match my experience. In other words, I consider it wrong.

Medicated feed can get a bit confusing. There are different medicines in different medicated feeds. Different medicines do different things. Some medicated feeds contain antibiotics, some don't. Some have medicines in a dose that helps prevent cocci yet allows the chick to develop immunity. Some have such a strong dosage that they do not allow the chick to develop an immunity. Different medicated feeds do different things. I would recommend against feeding a medicated feed that contains antibiotics and against one that prevents the chick from developing immunity to cocci as a general course. Those are for chicks in factory farms, not for us. I don't use any medicated feed, but I don't see any problem with the one that allows the chick to develop an immunity. And if you have a history of cocci, then it can be a very good idea. But when someone talks about "medicated feed", I'm usually not sure which medicated feed they are talking about.

 

[cubalaya]

amprolium is the ingredient in medicated. one bag will not hurt them and might keep them from getting cocci.