I don't kno what to feed my chicks I have a small bag of medicated chick starter, but a neighbor told me this was dangerous. A friend said to feed starter and some grit. I want to feed purina med starter/grower. Which is the right choice? Ahhh! ¤momma to 1 golden retriver, 1husky/wolf,1 jack russel, 1 corgi mix and 1 hound mix(all rescues) and now 8 buff orps! Life in the country is amazing!
You don't need to add grit unless you are feeding them food they will have trouble breaking down, like grass or vegetable scraps. Medicated starter is a complete feed by itself so keep going with that. Why did the person say it is dangerous? Are they worried about the antibiotics? They are in the food to help the chicks build up an immunity to coccidiosis and by the time the chicks get to laying age you won't be feeding them medicated food so there is no danger to you of eating the medication, when you eat their eggs.
The starter feed is NOT dangerous. Your neighbor is ill-informed. It does NOT contain hormones as no hormones can legally be fed any chicken in the US. It does NOT really contain anti-biotics as you might envision them either. It merely contains a minute portion Amprollium, a blocker of the dreaded cocci disease. It cannot "cure" cocci, only provides a tiny amount of blocker so that the chick's immune system doesn't get overwhelmed. The problem with chicken raising is that you'll get a lot of information from the neighbors and the net. Much of it is myth and inaccurate.
