Should I medicate?

[sphinxface]

So the barn I got my chicks from has a way of preventing coccidiosis besides medicated feed, they have you give half a dose of amprolium in the water once a week(along with feeding their blend of chick starter feed).. I read somewhere that antibiotics can cause vitamin deficiency and one of my chicks currently seems to be having problems similar to vitamin B2 deficiency. Their water has probiotic/vitamins in it right now, I've been giving a little extra to the problem chick with only mild improvement. They want you to do the treatment on Monday and I'm debating on if this is a good thing for her right now? I don't want to make her worse ;(

 

[realsis]

instead you can use medicated chick feed. the feed has small amounts of Amprolium in it. By giving the medication form of Amprolium it's in a larger amount and stronger form which can lead to resistance to the medication. if you did need to treat for coccidosis in the future it could prove more difficult having a resistance and tolerance to the medication.
Long term use could possibly lead to vitamin defiency mainly B2 (riboflavin) because the medicine long term can block the absorption of the vitamin.With normal use of medicated feed issues like this rarely happen. I would use the smaller amount of Amprolium by giving the feed. if your chick is showing signs of deficiency I would keep her off the Amprolium during her treatment with the vitamins. after she recovers she should be able to return to the medicated feed without issue. sometimes we don't know the reasons defiency strikes a chick.so many factors can contribute. when my birds got defiency it took a good four weeks to get them back to normal. after having been through that I added a good poultry vitamin that I give once a month and it's really helped.I also start the chicks on a poultry probotic that adds good bacteria in there digestive system. Hope this helps a bit. best wishes to you and your flock.

 

[sphinxface]

instead you can use medicated chick feed. the feed has small amounts of Amprolium in it. By giving the medication form of Amprolium it's in a larger amount and stronger form which can lead to resistance to the medication. if you did need to treat for coccidosis in the future it could prove more difficult having a resistance and tolerance to the medication.
Long term use could possibly lead to vitamin defiency mainly B2 (riboflavin) because the medicine long term can block the absorption of the vitamin.With normal use of medicated feed issues like this rarely happen. I would use the smaller amount of Amprolium by giving the feed. if your chick is showing signs of deficiency I would keep her off the Amprolium during her treatment with the vitamins. after she recovers she should be able to return to the medicated feed without issue. sometimes we don't know the reasons defiency strikes a chick.so many factors can contribute. when my birds got defiency it took a good four weeks to get them back to normal. after having been through that I added a good poultry vitamin that I give once a month and it's really helped.I also start the chicks on a poultry probotic that adds good bacteria in there digestive system. Hope this helps a bit. best wishes to you and your flock.

So now my only option is to go out and find medicated feed? What brand is a good brand? How should I transition them? Won't that stress them out? Suddenly medicating everyday now won't be a problem?

 

[azygous]

The "barn" where you bought your chicks is suggesting a preventative dose of the amprolium. It's probably not much different than what the chicks would be getting in medicated feed.

If you have the bottle of amprolium, read the directions and be sure you are mixing up the "preventative" dose and not the "treatment" dose which is far more.

You refer to antibiotics. Amprolium is not an antibiotic. It doesn't act on the chicks the same as antibiotics. All it does is block certain B vitamins like Riboflavin because coccidiosis feeds on B vitamins. But the preventative dose shouldn't cause a vitamin deficiency.

If you're concerned about the one chick having a vitamin deficiency, it won't hurt to exempt her from the amprolium dosing. It's doubtful it would cause her to get cocci.

 

[sphinxface]

Why quotes on barn? I know they aren't a breeder but they are an actual barn with animals and such. I realize it's not an antibiotic now, but the bottle doesn't have anythin on it... I switched them to medicated feed in hopes that it makes a difference.

Also how does this differ from vitamin D3 deficiency? Giving her riboflavin supplement hasn't had any effect yet... I've fed her eggs, yogurt, sardines in soy oil, and she's about the same...I'm starting to regret buying from them to be honest...