Mixing Medicated and Non-Med Starter?

[Kait27]

I'm less than two weeks away from receiving my first set of chicks, and I want to make sure to keep them healthy. I bought a 5Lb. bag of medicated chick starter at the feed store by Manna-Pro. They had that or a 50-Lb bag, and I only have four chicks coming. I am not against using medicated started, in fact, I'd prefer it- I don't care about organic/non-organic etc. However, the 5 Lb. Bags are very cost-ineffective, and for only a few more dollars, I got a 20 Lb. bag (much more size appropriate than a 50lb.) of non-medicated starter at TSC. So my questions are:
How long do I have to have them on medicated feed for it to be effective- if I started them on the 5Lbs. of medicated feed til it ran out and then went to the non-medicated, could they still get coccidiosis?
And, could someone tell me a little bit more about cocci, what it is, how it spreads, symptoms to watch for, how to prevent it, etc?

 

[debilorrah]

I don't have an answer but hopefully someone will come along that does.

 

[Mahonri]

I start them out with the medicated, then switch to the non-medicated when it's done... and before you finish the non medicated you should start adding grower crumbles.

Cocci can get a chicken at any time but chicks are most vulnerable for the first two to three weeks.

Someone else may think differently.