Should I be feeding Medicated Starter Feed or Non medicated Chick Crumb?

[Rosy Starling]

I am currently feeding a good quality Non Medicated Chick Crumb but now I am confused (after conflicting advice online) as to whether I should be feeding my new brood of 4 day old chicks, Medicated? Someone told me if I start feeding medicated then I will always have to feed, ie, Medicated Growers etc. and so on forever. Also they said that the Non Medicated was more beneficial for the chicks having better nutrients and vitamins etc. Another question, should I be getting my little home flock vaccinated? What issues are they likely to come up against?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Someone told me if I start feeding medicated then I will always have to feed, ie, Medicated Growers etc. and so on forever.

Not true

Also they said that the Non Medicated was more beneficial for the chicks having better nutrients and vitamins etc.

Not true

Another question, should I be getting my little home flock vaccinated? What issues are they likely to come up against?

Vaccinated against what? Different hatcheries offer different vaccinations.

I've been told that its outlawed now and I can't get it

What medicine is in that medicated feed? Some medicines may be banned while others are not. Who outlawed it, your city, county, or state. Different jurisdictions can have different rules. Or did you talk to a feed store employee that did not know what they were talking about?

@Rosy Starling I'm going to copy something I wrote a few years back that might give you enough information to make an informed choice. Hope it helps.

First you need to know what the "medicated" is in the medicated feed. It should be on the label. Usually it is Amprolium, Amprol, some such product, but until you read the label, you really don't know. Most "medicated' feed from major brands for chicks that will be layers uses Amprolium, but there are a few out there mostly for broilers that use other medicines. I'll assume yours is an Amprolium product, but if it is not, then realize everything I say about it may not apply. And it is possible that the "medicated" is Amprolium AND something else.

Amprol is not an antibiotic. It does not kill anything. It inhibits the protozoa that cause coccidiosis (often called Cocci on this forum) from multiplying in the chicken's system. It does not prevent the protozoa from multiplying; it just slows that multiplication down. There are several different strains of protozoa that can cause Cocci, some more severe than others. Chickens can develop immunity to a specific strain of the protozoa, but that does not give them immunity to all protozoa that cause Cocci.

It is not a big deal for the chicken’s intestines to contain some of the protozoa that cause Cocci. The problem comes in when the number of those protozoa gets huge. The protozoa can multiply in the chicken’s intestines but also in wet manure. Different protozoa strains have different strengths, but for almost all cases, if you keep the brooder dry, you will not have a problem.

To develop immunity to a specific strain, that protozoa needs to be in the chicks intestines for two or three weeks. The normal sequence is that a chick has the protozoa. It poops and some of the cysts that develop the protozoa come out in the poop. If the poop is slightly damp, those cysts develop and will then develop in the chick's intestines when the chicks eat that poop. This cycle needs go on for a few weeks so all chicks are exposed and they are exposed long enough to develop immunity. A couple of important points here. You do need to watch them to see if they are getting sick. And the key is to keep the brooder dry yet allow some of the poop to stay damp. Not soaking wet, just barely damp. Wet poop can lead to serious problems.

What sometimes happens is that people keep chicks in a brooder and feed them medicated feed while they are in the brooder. Those chicks are never exposed to the Cocci protozoa that lives in the dirt in their run, so they never develop the immunity to it. Then, they are switched to non-medicated feed and put on the ground where they are for the first time exposed to the protozoa. They do not have immunity, they do not have the protection of the medicated feed, so they get sick. Feeding medicated feed while in the brooder was a complete waste.

I do not feed medicated feed. I keep the brooder dry to not allow the protozoa to breed uncontrollably. The third day that they are in the brooder, I take a scoop of dirt from the run and feed it to them so I can introduce the protozoa and they can develop the immunity they need to the strain they need to develop an immunity to. To provide a place for that slightly damp poop, I keep a square of plywood in the dry brooder and let the poop build up on that. I don't lose chicks to Cocci when they hit the ground.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding medicated feed to chicks, whether the protozoa are present or not. It will not hurt them. They can still develop the immunity they need. But unless the protozoa are present, it also does no good.

If you get your chicks vaccinated for Cocci, do not feed medicated feed. It can negate the vaccinations.

 

[Ridgerunner]

They don't get medicated feed when born out in the wild, so why do they need it because they are penned up in my yard?

I'll respond this way, I think it is a legitimate comment. If you raise yours with a broody hen and they have access to a fairly large area where she can take them, I totally agree it is very similar to raising them in the wild. It is really rare for a chick raised by a broody hen that has room to work to get Cocci. If that bug is present they start working on that immunity immediately. They get it from Mama. They cover a lot of territory, poop doesn't build up thick. She can take them to drier places. Life is really good.

But a lot of people don't raise them that way. Broody hens and chicks may be penned into smaller areas where the poop can build up. Sometimes these areas stay wet, the hen can't take them to a better place. Or we take the place of the broody, keeping them in brooders or small coops and runs where poop an build up. That's a different situation.

I don't use medicated feed either, my history says I don't need to. If my history included a Cocci problem I'd probably try to figure out why and chance my management practices. Medicated feed might be one of those changes.

We are all different, we all have different conditions and circumstances. What works for me might very well not work for someone else.

 

[rosemarythyme]

So with that being said, is the bacteria that causes this still in soil that has never had chickens on it? Should I switch prior to letting them out or just keep feeding them non medicated feed? I was under the assumption it was more necessary to have them on this if they are going out into an area already occupied with chickines? Sorry for all the questions. I’m a chicken n00b!

Yes, the bacteria can still be present. I dealt with coccidiosis with my first group of chicks, and there were not chickens living here before (at least not any time recent).

I personally would not bother switching feeds. I would keep Corid on hand (or know where you can get some immediately if needed), if you see symptoms and need to treat the birds.

 

[Ridgerunner]

There’s no need to mix feed to transition.

I've never found a need to mix the feed when I switch from Starter to Grower or anything else. I have not had a problem going from crumble to pellets or the other way. Some people like to mix feeds but I never have. Mixing them will not hurt anything but I've never seen it as necessary.

Also, could I dig up a handful of dirt from the yard and give it to them to munch on to help build their immunity up to it?

If a strain of that bug is present this would help build their immunity to that strain. I don't know of any way to determine if that bug is present beforehand. It is more common in warm humid areas than it is in cool dry areas but you never know.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I was told in the store that it the amprolium is out of their system in 4 days, so when their of laying age you can switch to an organic feed and your eggs should still be organic after it’s out of their system. Their good bacteria and immune system take over and you should be good to go.

They'd be "organic enough" for most people's home consumption but if you're talking about certified organic (like for retail sale) no you cannot switch to organic feed later and certify the eggs as organic in the US.

 

[Lil TexHens]

I look at it this way:

They don't get medicated feed when born out in the wild, so why do they need it because they are penned up in my yard? I haven't lost a little one yet to any illness. But that's just my opinion.

You’re correct in that one doesn’t have to give medicated feed. There are plenty who don’t without issue. But...then there are those that didn’t give medicated and dealt with Cocci. Of course, the same goes with using medicated feed. Giving medicated feed doesn’t guarantee that one’s chicks won’t get Cocci; it can help at least lessen the severity. If one’s chicks are being raised outside with mama, an outside brooder or take them outside daily for short field trips, then they are getting exposure that helps to build up an immunity to Coccidiosis. Whereas chicks raised inside having zero exposure to dirt can’t build up an immunity to something they have never been exposed to. So adding a small amount of dirt, daily, to an indoor brooder is a very important, whether or not one’s chicks get medicated feed.

 

[M Brennen]

I
I used to insist on it for new biddies. But over the last year or so, I've been told that its outlawed now and I can't get it. I don't care what anyone else thinks, I've read all about the pros and cons. But I never lost a chick on it but now I can't get it so I don't. I'm in Texas.

We get it in Vermont. I have been feeding the medicated to mine. I believe the only thing it prevents against is coccidiosis, but that’s good enough for me. Also, I’m wondering if it would disqualify any chickens or eggs from being “organic.”

 

[Ryguy3684]

We feed our young flock medicated feed. They generally have probiotics and low dose amprolium. Amprolium, in higher doses, is the medication used to treat for coccidiosis. In the medicated feed, it's a low dose intended to keep the parasite in check, so the chicks can develop a resistance to it on their own. We almost lost one of our chicks this year to coccidiosis, and it can spread throughout the flock quickly. I switched to medicated feed after that. Is it necessary, no. I do it because it's easier to try to prevent, than to treat. The hatchery my chicks came from didn't offer vaccinations.

 

[Bear1978]

I just tossed a handful of grass and few weeds (mainly grass) with some root and dirt attached into my brooder to give them a little exposure to the outside stuff. So time will tell!