Medicated or unmedicated starter feed?

[smitty750]

I want to raise healthy chickens and that starts when they're chicks but the reason I'm doing this is to avoid the normal grocery store medicated antibiotics filled eggs. Is it necessary to give chicks medicated starter feed or is it just something feed companies use to scare people into medicating their birds??

 

[rubyvulture]

I was just wondering the same thing. I got the nonmedicated chick starter for the chicks I just purchaesd yesterday at the feed store. I already lost one chick and I'm wondering if it was diseased or just an unheathy runt. Should I go back and buy the medicated feed?

 

[Fred's Hens]

The "medication" in starter is usually just amprollium and is NOT an anti-biotic. It is merely a thiamine blocker in the tract of the chicks, which will starve coccidiosis if present. It is not a treatment level dose, merely a slight preventative measure. If you get an outbreak of coccidiosis, the dosage must be upped to prevent death. Amprollium is normally given at a higher rate through the drinking water. These measure are merely to prevent coccidiosis from over whelming a younger bird until such time as their own immunity system thwarts the coccidiosis, which is found almost everywhere, comes in 8 different strains and is carried about by wild birds.

Lots of folks just feed plain Starter. That's fine. But just to be clear, amprollium isn't really an anti-biotic.


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[debid]

Medicated is usually a feed with Amprolium mixed in at a low dose. The goal is to suppress cocci enough to allow resistance to build without the chick becoming ill. Cocci are naturally occurring in the soil and chicks that have been exposed will shed them in droppings. They are much worse in some areas than others so asking around locally may be the best source of information on how much risk you take going unmedicated.

Personally, I went unmedicated knowing that I bought chicks at the lowest risk time of year (early spring) and was committed to gradual soil exposure in an area that did not previously house poultry. No losses, no illnesses. I would, however, use Amprolium without hesitation if I saw signs of cocci illness. You can buy it separately to give only if needed.

Medications are required to be disclosed on the label so read the tag stitched into the bag's seam. Amorolium is all that is generally used in bagged chick feeds and it is discontinued before any laying. However, I found that my local mill sells starter with a second antibiotic in it (Bacitracin) which is easily spotted by the special blue tag required for it. I choose not to buy their product which is really meant for intense, commercial farming.

 

[cafarmgirl]

I want to raise healthy chickens and that starts when they're chicks but the reason I'm doing this is to avoid the normal grocery store medicated antibiotics filled eggs. Is it necessary to give chicks medicated starter feed or is it just something feed companies use to scare people into medicating their birds??

No, it's not necessary and it's also certainly not a scare tactic by any means. BUT you need to do some research about Amprolium and coccidiosis so that you know exactly what you are dealing with. Amprolium is not an antibiotic and coccidia are protozoa, not bacteria. Coccidiosis is a very real threat to your young birds and it is fast killer. But Amprolium corrects it very easily provided it has not progressed to far. So be aware of the very first signs and symptoms, keep Corid on hand, and be ready to treat asap. Coccidiosis can kill overnight. This applies whether you feed medicated or not since chicks can still come down with coccidiosis when fed medicated.

 

[YardBirdMom]

I bought 15 baby chicks from Atwoods, it's like a local Tractor Supply store, and they were already feeding medicated and recommended I continue using it. The hatchery I am purchasing my other babies from offered to vaccinate against cocci for a nominal fee, but said do not do the vaccine AND the medicated feed as it is contraindicated (cancels the vaccine out).
Since I am doing medicated feed for the first batch I chose not to have the others vaccinated and will feed them medicated. It looks like I will have a lot left over.

So far I have not suffered any losses and I've had these 15 (plus added 1 more) for almost two weeks. The store said my babies had been there for a week when I bought them so it means my group is roughly 3wks old, give or take a day or two.

I do have a question about this: How long does medicated feed need to be fed, to what age?

 

[smitty750]

Thanks for the info everybody.

 

[cafarmgirl]

You can feed it until you switch to layer if you want, or you can switch when the bag runs out, doesn't really matter. The most important thing is to be very familiar with the signs of coccidiosis and be prepared to treat if necessary. Especially when adding new birds or when young birds first move outside.

 

[YardBirdMom]

You can feed it until you switch to layer if you want, or you can switch when the bag runs out, doesn't really matter. The most important thing is to be very familiar with the signs of coccidiosis and be prepared to treat if necessary. Especially when adding new birds or when young birds first move outside.

Thank you Cafarmgirl!

I think the learning curve on raising a new animal I've never had before is the most nerve wracking for me, because I feel such a tremendous pressure to do everything right. Their health and well being are my utmost concern. I do believe I shall spend some time researching the signs of this condition!

 

[smccuen]

I opt to avoid medicated feed. Mine have been fine and healthy and I don't worry about the eggs or the meat having been exposed unnecessarily to antibiotics. Avoiding such things in my food is one of the reasons why I got my own chickens to start with.