MEDICATED WHAT THE HECK!!! is it GOOD or BAD

[dathy]

hey, i went to the feed store to get chick starter ,and i bought one pound of medicated chick feed the only problem is that i have no clue if it will cause more harm then good

is medicated chick feed safe? or is it better if i give them organic chick feed

ps. its purina medicated chick feed

 

[Nicole01]

I always feed medicated the first 3-4 months. Then I switch to layer.

Medicated feed helps build an immunity to coccidiosis, which is everywhere in damp areas, even in the brooder if it gets wet by the waterer. I personally would not go without it since coccidiosis can easily kill an entire flock.

I personally think its a must have. I buy all my feed by 50# bags. Even with as little as 3 chicks.

 

[cva34]

hey, i went to the feed store to get chick starter ,and i bought one pound of medicated chick feed the only problem is that i have no clue if it will cause more harm then good

is medicated chick feed safe? or is it better if i give them organic chick feed

ps. its purina medicated chick feed

Its nothing new been around for years.I use it a lot on new chicks then get them off at abour 5 weeks if I can find un-medicated ..Which is getting harder to find.Been no problem....cva34

 

[Going Quackers]

I think that has to be THE question of chicken owners lol Not a thing wrong with using it, very common too.. that said i have chose not too. My nuggets(

) are on a flock raiser that i use for my ducks, i read around even spoke with my hatchery and the majority seemed to feel it was a personal choice.

They are now 14/15 days old and are doing well. My one feed supply(where i buy my horse grain) sells no medicated feeds for anyone.. it's an organic place.

 

[Roxannemc]

I think that has to be THE question of chicken owners lol Not a thing wrong with using it, very common too.. that said i have chose not too. My nuggets(

) are on a flock raiser that i use for my ducks, i read around even spoke with my hatchery and the majority seemed to feel it was a personal choice.

They are now 14/15 days old and are doing well. My one feed supply(where i buy my horse grain) sells no medicated feeds for anyone.. it's an organic place.

I am sure it works very well to use organic from the beginning for some but that said in just 4 months on BYC (yeah i am new) i have seen more than one person on here with baby chicks dying like flys and they did not use medicated but unmedicated of some kind so ..take a chance or dont , a gamble
.

 

[spatulagirl]

I have always fed unmedicated and organic for the past three years. However, I just had an outbreak of coccidiosis in my brooder chicks. Luckily I only lost four before I got meds in them.

I have them on medicated right now as well as Corid in the water. I haven't decided what I am going to do in the future. I think I will start seeding the brooder with adult pen dirt and make more of an effort to help them develop immunity naturally.

 

[Going Quackers]

I am sure it works very well to use organic from the beginning for some but that said in just 4 months on BYC (yeah i am new) i have seen more than one person on here with baby chicks dying like flys and they did not use medicated but unmedicated of some kind so ..take a chance or dont , a gamble
.

I have also read of those who fed medicated and lost their birds too so i don't think it guarantees anything. I think chicks are a gamble period..

I think it really is a personal choice, many will have both success and failures using either method. I thoroughly discussed my feeding with my hatchery( this is a SMALL private one.. like the owner is a vet) and he felt my flock raiser would be a reasonable option, i made it very clear i would purchase an alternate if it was needed, yet he felt that was not a route i needed taking in account my set-up, birds and so forth. Plus again my one feed supply is totally organic so obviously there are many feeding this way, this is an old fashioned feed supply.. like know your name kind so if there were massive issues i doubt they would adopt such polices.

I have no issues whatsoever with those who feed otherwise, it's all about what we think works best.. hopefully in the end we will all get what we want, happy, healthy chickies!

 

[Going Quackers]

I have always fed unmedicated and organic for the past three years. However, I just had an outbreak of coccidiosis in my brooder chicks. Luckily I only lost four before I got meds in them.

I have them on medicated right now as well as Corid in the water. I haven't decided what I am going to do in the future. I think I will start seeding the brooder with adult pen dirt and make more of an effort to help them develop immunity naturally.

That's unfortunate, good that you caught it. It's a very um, grey area? at least that is what i have found.. so many variables and seems loss hits those on both sides of the med vs non-med fence.

 

[Steeler Chick]

When I ordered by chicks to be delivered July 9th and they will be vaccinated for the coccidiosis after they hatch. If you do this then you are not suppose to feed them the medicated food or it will nullify the vaccination. This will be my first time raising chicks.

 

[OurLittlebitRanch]

We HATE to use anything that is "not natural", that is why we raise our own "food", so we know what we are eating, and it isn't the added chemicals and medications. (We aren't all organic or anything just try to avoid what chemicals we can) Thant being said we DO start our chickies out on the medicated stuff. It seems to give them a better start and they tend to be a little more healthy. When they get a little bigger we take them off of the medicated chick starter and move onto the other stuff (including leftover veggies, bread etc!) Not to mention I have found it almost impossible to find any starter that is not medicated that does not cost a fortune!