Can I eat eggs laid by hens who've been eating medicated chick feed?

[abanjaf]

My darlings are 5 months old. My 3 EE's have started laying, although no one else though. I've switched them over to the layer formula, but the guy in the feed store told me not to eat the eggs because of the medication in the feed. I didn't think to ask him how long I had to wait until the medication "cleared" their system. So, when can I start eating the eggs?
Thanks,
Jessi

 

[abanjaf]

I obviously forgot to mention that they'd been eating the medicated chick starter til now.

 

[MamaMia72]

I am new too, but from what I am understanding is that you should be fine since most store bought eggs come from chickens that are medicated. The issue here is that you are then exposing yourself to the medication...totally a personal call...I don't want to get into all the issues here with what is "safe" and "unsafe" food.

I personally don't want the exposure to these sort of things which is a big reason I chose to raise chickens and also chose not to use medicated feed beyond their first few weeks (I really debated even on this).

If I am incorrect I would love to hear otherwise.

 

[gritsar]

Yes you can eat them.
My pullets were still eating medicated chick starter/grower when they started laying as well.
The only reason I didn't eat them was because I have severe allergies to many many medications. My DH ate them just fine.

 

[jhm47]

The "medication" in most starter/grower feeds is Amprolium. It is a coccidiostat (kills the organism that causes coccidiosis). It is not an antibiotic, and I doubt that it would affect the eggs. If you have ever had a cocci outbreak, you would find that the meds are very valuable, and also safe.