Is antibiotic laced feed necessary for chicks?

[Hholly]

At Rural King, the only chick feed I saw had antibiotics. Is it really necessary, and are there places to buy good feed without?
Thanks!

 

[Blooie]

Welcome to BYC!

I think the food you are seeing says "medicated" on the bag. Don't let that fool you. It's doesn't have antibiotics in it. Instead it has amprollium which helps prevent coccidiosis. All birds have the cocci protozoa living in their gut. It's also abundant in the soil, and there are several strains of cocci. Older birds which have built up an immunity slowly are well able to withstand the small load they carry. Amprollium simply keeps those numbers in check so they don't overwhelm the chicks' immature systems.

Whether to feed it or not is up to each individual. I don't. When I was brooding chicks indoors, I would put a lump of sod in the brooder for them to play with and peck at. It also exposed them slowly to what they'd be facing in the outdoor environment. I have since started brooding chicks outdoors in a pen contained within the run, totally exposed to whatever is in the older chickens' world.

There are folks who do use nothing but medicated food for their chicks and they are very happy with it. There's no right or wrong here. I just wanted you to understand that "medicated" doesn't mean that it contains antibiotics. Good luck with your new adventure!

 

[ameliadanielle]

I didn't use it with ours. I just decided I would feed them regular food, as there was a cost difference and they seemed to be healthy into teenagerhood. Now that we have ducks, I won't be feeding medicated food unless I quarantine a specific chicken away from the group so the ducks couldn't get to it. We also raised our chicks indoors until they lost their fluff. It's not going to hurt, as long as only chicken chicks have access to it. I have heard if ducks eat it they will eat too much and it can make them ill. I'm just of the mindset that if my animals are healthy they don't need medication. I just keep it simple.

 

[Hholly]

Welcome to BYC!

I think the food you are seeing says "medicated" on the bag. Don't let that fool you. It's doesn't have antibiotics in it. Instead it has amprollium which helps prevent coccidiosis. All birds have the cocci protozoa living in their gut. It's also abundant in the soil, and there are several strains of cocci. Older birds which have built up an immunity slowly are well able to withstand the small load they carry. Amprollium simply keeps those numbers in check so they don't overwhelm the chicks' immature systems.

Whether to feed it or not is up to each individual. I don't. When I was brooding chicks indoors, I would put a lump of sod in the brooder for them to play with and peck at. It also exposed them slowly to what they'd be facing in the outdoor environment. I have since started brooding chicks outdoors in a pen contained within the run, totally exposed to whatever is in the older chickens' world.

There are folks who do use nothing but medicated food for their chicks and they are very happy with it. There's no right or wrong here. I just wanted you to understand that "medicated" doesn't mean that it contains antibiotics. Good luck with your new adventure!

Ok Thanks. That's good to know. Yes I thought that medication was an antibiotic. I'm not wanting to contribute to antibiotic resistant bugs. I still have a lot to learn here. Didn't even think about parasites yet. Yikes! Thanks for letting me know.

 

[dheltzel]

I didn't use it with ours. I just decided I would feed them regular food, as there was a cost difference and they seemed to be healthy into teenagerhood. Now that we have ducks, I won't be feeding medicated food unless I quarantine a specific chicken away from the group so the ducks couldn't get to it. We also raised our chicks indoors until they lost their fluff. It's not going to hurt, as long as only chicken chicks have access to it. I have heard if ducks eat it they will eat too much and it can make them ill. I'm just of the mindset that if my animals are healthy they don't need medication. I just keep it simple.

Your information about ducks overeating medicated feed and dying is outdated. It was true with older meds, but never with Amprolium.

Nevertheless, IMO, Amprol medicated feed is not needed. I use it because it is cheaper and does no harm, but if I could get unmedicated for the same price, I would use that. Keeping the brooder clean and dry is the only coccidosis preventative that is needed. If you saw how chicks are raised commercially, you would understand the need for Amprol in large operations, but it is not needed for backyard poultry keeping unless you are horribly slack on your cleaning, in which case you will have problems, medicated feed or not.

Coccidia are present in small quantities everywhere, but they breed fastest in wet conditions. Keep your babies dry and they should never need Amprol.

 

[ameliadanielle]

Your information about ducks overeating medicated feed and dying is outdated. It was true with older meds, but never with Amprolium.

Nevertheless, IMO, Amprol medicated feed is not needed. I use it because it is cheaper and does no harm, but if I could get unmedicated for the same price, I would use that. Keeping the brooder clean and dry is the only coccidosis preventative that is needed. If you saw how chicks are raised commercially, you would understand the need for Amprol in large operations, but it is not needed for backyard poultry keeping unless you are horribly slack on your cleaning, in which case you will have problems, medicated feed or not.

Coccidia are present in small quantities everywhere, but they breed fastest in wet conditions. Keep your babies dry and they should never need Amprol.

I'm totally new to having ducks. I was just advised not to feed them medicated foods for chickens. I wasn't aware the new stuff wouldn't hurt them. I just feed them all together so they live on chicken food and whatever they pick out of the yard. I still haven't seen any medicated food for ducks around here, just chickens. So I assumed that was why. Thanks for that info.

 

[dheltzel]

I'm totally new to having ducks. I was just advised not to feed them medicated foods for chickens. I wasn't aware the new stuff wouldn't hurt them. I just feed them all together so they live on chicken food and whatever they pick out of the yard. I still haven't seen any medicated food for ducks around here, just chickens. So I assumed that was why. Thanks for that info.

My experience with ducks is limited also, but I read a lot of posts and knowledgable duck owners have made a good case. The old time medications were arsenic based, so it's easy to imagine how that could end badly for a gluttonous duckling.

I think most everyone would prefer to feed as natural as possible, even if we are "sure" there are no bad effects. That's why I'd prefer unmedicated feed, if only I could get it as cheaply as the medicated stuff. I've talked to the feed mill and tried to convince them that they could make more profit leaving that out, but it's still "custom" and therefore I would need to buy a ton at a time.

 

[ameliadanielle]

That's crazy. I don't buy in volume, I have only had to buy three or four small bags. I was sure the unmedicated here was cheaper. Or at the least the same price. I was only buying 10 lbs at a time though. All of my birdies are too young to be raising a ton of babies. I guess if I ever let any hatch out I will have to buy bigger quantities and might run across that price difference then.

 

[junebuggena]

One important thing to keep in mind when feeding chicks, if you choose not to feed medicated chick starter, then you need to have medication for coccidiosis on hand. Delaying treatment for even a day or two can kill.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

You should buy in 50lb bags. Medicated is usually about $1 more per 50lb bag. Even if only raising 6 birds they'll finish a 50lb bag in 10 weeks.

I personally don't use medicated as I let all birds eat whatever feed I purchased. When hatching everyone is on starter crumbles. When youngest birds are old enough for pellets everyone is on pellets. So no layer feed or medicated feed used here. I also am in an area that is not prevalent with cocci. Cocci is in every soil but some climates are worse than others. If chickens are left on same soil then that soil will be high in cocci after a time and be deemed poultry sick soil. Young birds wouldn't do well in a fixed run that's very old without medicated feed. Portable grow out pens or electric poultry netting that can be moved now and then is better for growing birds in that regard. Once older birds have developed a natural defense though not immune.