Why not "Medicated" feed for quail?

[NewsomeFarm]

I bought a 50 lb bag of "Super Biddy Starter" medicated feed 28% protein not realizing that it was medicated. I have read many places to feed quail non-medicated feed. Why? What problems will the medicated feed cause? I know not to feed it to quail but do not know why. Anyone?

Thanks,
Ryan

 

[Plant Lady]

I been wondering the same thing about the medicated feed and why quails should not be feed this too. What does everyone feed their quails? Sorry to not help you out any Ryan but I'm curious to learn more on this too.

Misty

 

[TwoCrows]

There is nothing wrong with medicated feed for quail. Especially for those that have never raised quail before, cocci is very common in baby quail and can kill them. The medicated feed has low amounts of an antibiotic in it to help keep the cocci at bay why the babies develop immunity to the parasite. The feed is perfectly fine. At 6 weeks old, switch them to regular feed with no medication in it.

 

[Stellar]

There were studies in the past in which medicated feed causes males to be sterile over long periods of time. We do not medicate here unless it is needed. If medicated feed is only offered in your area I would get it it (if it has the high protein content). If you can get an unmedicated feed I would recommend that.

 

[Sycamore27]

Another point to consider, is the feed you're talking about formulated specifically for quail or some other bird?
Baby quail have a faster metabolism than baby chickens and will eat more food for their body weight in a shorter amount of time, thus if your food is dosed for chickens (or turkey or what have you) you have the potential to be giving your birds a toxic dose of medication inadvertently.

Personally my motivation for never giving medicated feed is that chronically medicated animals simply breed illness immune to medication. As the child of two chemists formerly employed by big pharma, turned organic farmers, I'm not too keen on creating that situation. That's a huge part of why I'm raising my own food anyway, it's the last thing I'm going to do with my own animals.
If I have to treat illness in my animals I'd rather follow a set dosage and schedule and generally maintain good animal husbandry as prevention. Hygiene goes a long way towards health, as does proper nutrition, and good ventilation.

I quit going to a feed store when an associate tried to pressure me into buying medicated feed and dismissed me and basically ignored me when I didn't budge and asked about ordering in non-medicated. If they can't have the good customer service to respect my husbandry choices they aren't getting my money.

It all comes down to personal preference.
Cheers,
Jessie

 

[James the Bald]

... I quit going to a feed store when an associate tried to pressure me into buying medicated feed and dismissed me and basically ignored me when I didn't budge and asked about ordering in non-medicated.

The reason he was pushing the medicated feed is because they order by the palet and get a bulk rate discount. I do purchases for the VA where I work, and when I order in bulk, I get a discount; so he's making a bigger profit with the medicated stuff, and when he orders a couple of 50 lb bags of non-medicated feed, he's paying closer to retail price and his profit margin is smaller.

 

[Zrcalo]

I raised my quail on medicated feed. Never ran into any issues.

 

[Sycamore27]

The reason he was pushing the medicated feed is because they order by the palet and get a bulk rate discount. I do purchases for the VA where I work, and when I order in bulk, I get a discount; so he's making a bigger profit with the medicated stuff, and when he orders a couple of 50 lb bags of non-medicated feed, he's paying closer to retail price and his profit margin is smaller.

I understand that(though I doubt they order much of that medicated feed to begin with, it's a city feed store), but a happy customer is a regular customer and if she had at least not been rude to me I might not have chosen to never go back there again and simply left or purchased the few other things I needed. She was also a cashier with no involvement in what is ordered and I'd bet no knowledge of what the profit percentages are, hence her dismissively referring me to the person in charge of ordering but not telling me who the manager was or where I might find him.

The other factor being that this feed store was in the next city which is full of hippy/homesteader/new age people, and I'd be shocked if they don't spend all their time catering to that. Thus I was surprised they even carried medicated feed in the first place as I doubt they have anyone who actually buys it as it would be a farther drive from any surrounding farming areas there then to a number of rural feed stores. Any time I've ordered anything at the local feed stores they've just folded it in with their normal order and I wait til that next order comes in.

Again, the rudeness is the part that I won't tolerate. I consider my business a vote of approval in the companies I deal with, I won't give my money to places that treat me badly or have poor policies if there's any way I can avoid it.

Personal opinion.
Cheers,
Jessie

 

[Plant Lady]

I would be afraid I would be digesting some of this medication too...my purpose to raising my own food is 1. healthier food for me and my family 2. teach my kids to live by their own means not by nasty poor food in the stores 3. to save money...or at least when compared to the quality of food I could get vs the cost of up keep. But we shall see how this goes and no offense to otehrs this is my two cents only and I find nothing wrong if you disagree with me so if you have other thoughts share them with me and teach me..i'm always open to others thoughts and ways.