Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Miss Lydia]

I have always used med. feed to start, and we have continued to eat the eggs because everyone including our ducks love baby chick food.

at least we won't have to worry about getting cocci.

I think some use it and some don't depending on the part of the country your in .

 

[quiltnchik]

Quote:
Ducks shouldn't have medicated feed; they can overdose and die on the medication!

 

[Miss Lydia]

that was the old coccistat they used can't think of the name of it but what they use now isn't harmful to ducks.

 

[phasianidae]

Quote:
It should be fine, I have never had any of my chicks vaccinated so I wouldnt know.

 

[quiltnchik]

Quote:
Can you point me to this info on the Web, please? I've been giving everyone unmedicated feed because I didn't want to chance the ducks/ducklings getting into medicated chick starter.

Thanks!

ETA: Just found this:

"Warning: Never give young waterfowl medicated chick feed. Ducklings are voracious eaters and can overdose themselves and die from a medication that is correctly proportioned for chickens. "

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKRaisingDucklings.html

I know that ducks "scoop" their feed and, as such, can overdose on the medication. Is this no longer the case?!?

 

[IroquoisEgg]

You don't need to medicate for cocci, the hens take their babies out on the dirt, coop floor, etc, and they slowly build immunity. It is us-humans, that pretty much cause our chicks to get cocci because we keep everything so clean for the first weeks and then set them out to get overloaded all at once with cocci or oocysts whatever the spelling is

 

[kingdr85]

IroquoisEgg is correct - my dad has never hatched a chick in a incubator (always with a broody hen) and had never had any cases of cocci. The chicks build ammunity if they are introduced to the dirt by the hen.

 

[Miss Lydia]

heres a link about medicated feed an alot of other miths, and thanks for info on medicated feed I really didn't want to use it anyway just because I try to raise all my animals as natural as possible. This link is very interesting.

http://www.shagbarkbantams.com/page21.htm

 

[perchie.girl]

I read somewhere that the Marek's vaccination doesnt keep them from getting Marek's it only keeps them from getting the symptoms. And the chicken can still pass on the disease.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marek's_disease

 

[Miss Lydia]

thanks Deb I had read that before but had forgotten where.