New with some questions

[SmallCityChicken]

Hello everyone, I have a few questions I hope you wouldn't mind helping me with, thanks in advance.
1) Without thinking it over first I purchased Purina Premium Start & Grow Unmedicated, now I am beginning to question if I should get the medicated feed for them. I have no idea if my soil contains the disease it protects against (Cocci?) but I live in the high desert & our area seems to prone to a lot of things from parvo to plague fleas.
I checked with the place of purchase & verified they are unvaccinated, so I should go ahead & get medicated right?
2) Does this items contain the grit they require? It states to feed as a sole food, but I cannot find where it actually states it contains it.
3) We are using Aspen bedding & I am changing it every 2-3 days, is this too often? It does not seem to need it that often.
I am also making it a daily activity to help my daughter pull grass to put in with them, they seem to enjoy playing in it. Should I take it back out daily or wait until cleaning day?

I am sure there is more but nothing I can think of at the moment.

 

[SueT]

I don't use medicated feed, and have raised chicks each year and never experienced coccidiosis. I give them a bit of soil to help them develop immunity. The medicated feed is fine, but since you already have the other, I'd say use it up, as it is perishable. If you do a search on BYC for medicated vs unmedicated feed, you will find tons of information, with pros and cons on both sides. There is a lot of helpful advice here!
Good luck!
btw, what age are your chicks?

 

[Rubysword]

As far as the grit goes, they won't need it if they are just eating the feed, but because you are giving them the grass you might want to purchase some.

 

[SmallCityChicken]

They get so use to being with medication in their feed will not help when they do need it over medicated is as dangerous as illness JMHO 55 years experience

Oh ok I see what you mean, yes that makes sense. I think I will end up giving them the unmediated I already purchased & have some of the Corid someone else mentioned on hand in case the situation ever arises.

 

[TwoChicksChix]

I disagree with you for the same reasons, we did studies on this in my immunology class at college. When the chicks we tested with were started on medicated feed, they were significantly less likely to develop coccidiosis once let outside into the environment. And those that did develop it had better chances of living and fought it off quicker than those who had not been started on medicated.

Of course it’s each persons choice whether they medicated or not. Just make sure you have corid on you just in case they do develop it. That’s just my two cents.

Base line is, every chicken is going to get coccidiosis at some point. It’s basically impossible to keep them from it their whole lives. So be prepared Incase they get sick.

 

[DiYMama540]

Not sure about the feed, I was raising waterfowl with my baby chicks, so I had to go with the unmedicated.

As for the stinky dirty brooder though....
If you put your pine shavings, or your preferred medium, deep enough you should only have to stir it every couple days, then sprinkle some fresh on top of it needs it. I used a cat litter scoop for this and it worked great.

Just grass clippings I think would be fine to leave with them, but any other treats with high moisture content, think lettuce, should be removed because they could mold and attract bugs.

 

[TwoChicksChix]

So the only difference between medicated and unmedicated feed is the preventative for Coccidia. I personally tend to feed medicated feed for the first four weeks and then go with flock raiser from there.

However, almost every chicken is going to experience coccidiosis at some point. If you keep with you a bottle of Corid, which can be purchased from most feed stores, you can put some in the water at about .16ml per gallon to treat it.

Once they’ve had it once, they won’t get it again unless a new strain is introduced to the soil. Plus, it’s really only dangerous while they’re chicks.

As for grit, grit tends to need to be added to the diet. The general rule is that they should just have free access to it, so you can often buy a bag of grit to last you a long time.

Do your chickens free range or are they in the coop all day? That’ll determine if you need to clean it often or not. If they’re just chicks, I tend to clean messy areas once a day, such as around their feed and water bowls or where they sleep.

 

[SmallCityChicken]

I don't use medicated feed, and have raised chicks each year and never experienced coccidiosis. I give them a bit of soil to help them develop immunity. The medicated feed is fine, but since you already have the other, I'd say use it up, as it is perishable. If you do a search on BYC for medicated vs unmedicated feed, you will find tons of information, with pros and cons on both sides. There is a lot of helpful advice here!
Good luck!
btw, what age are your chicks?

They appear to be about a week or two old, just little bitty things.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Hello everyone, I have a few questions I hope you wouldn't mind helping me with, thanks in advance.
1) Without thinking it over first I purchased Purina Premium Start & Grow Unmedicated, now I am beginning to question if I should get the medicated feed for them. I have no idea if my soil contains the disease it protects against (Cocci?) but I live in the high desert & our area seems to prone to a lot of things from parvo to plague fleas.
I checked with the place of purchase & verified they are unvaccinated, so I should go ahead & get medicated right?
2) Does this items contain the grit they require? It states to feed as a sole food, but I cannot find where it actually states it contains it.
3) We are using Aspen bedding & I am changing it every 2-3 days, is this too often? It does not seem to need it that often.
I am also making it a daily activity to help my daughter pull grass to put in with them, they seem to enjoy playing in it. Should I take it back out daily or wait until cleaning day?

I am sure there is more but nothing I can think of at the moment.

Never use medicated please as of this moment made the error to trust brought sniffles in main coop now it I used medicated the medicine I use would be no good as they already had it in feed I would have to cull the entire flock

 

[pennyJo1960]

They get so use to being with medication in their feed will not help when they do need it over medicated is as dangerous as illness JMHO 55 years experience