BarredBuff
El Presidente de Pollo
I feed mine just general purpose feed usually. With forage and cracked corn. Then they get oyster shells.
Medicated chick feed?
- Thread starter Denim Deb
- Start date
bibliophile birds
Lovin' The Homestead
more specifics about medicated feed and cocci vaccines: as the others have said, it was originally made for industrial operations and has since become the "norm" for backyarders as well. the benefits of medicated feed really only apply to chicks that are raised either in huge barns that are hard to adequately clean or on wire.
as Bee said, ALL birds have some cocci in their systems if they have had contact with dirt because the parasite is transmitted through the chicks pecking and scratching in the dirt. the IMPORTANT thing is to introduce chicks to coccidia slowly instead of trying to medicate for it.
the key is to keep your brooders clean but NOT antiseptic. putting chicks on wire or changing their litter completely every day means that they don't have a chance to build up a slow immunity to all the things that will naturally be in their guts. that means that when they get on dirt, their system will be overwhelmed by all the parasites and bacteria in the ground and they will most likely get very sick. you also want to introduce them to the outdoors slowly. i start by taking them out onto fresh grass for about an hour and working up to all day over a week or two.
i've not lost a single bird to illness. i haven't been doing this all that long, but a chick fatality rate of 5% is considered "good"- my chick fatality rate is 2% and that is with no vaccines and no medicated feed.
as Bee said, ALL birds have some cocci in their systems if they have had contact with dirt because the parasite is transmitted through the chicks pecking and scratching in the dirt. the IMPORTANT thing is to introduce chicks to coccidia slowly instead of trying to medicate for it.
the key is to keep your brooders clean but NOT antiseptic. putting chicks on wire or changing their litter completely every day means that they don't have a chance to build up a slow immunity to all the things that will naturally be in their guts. that means that when they get on dirt, their system will be overwhelmed by all the parasites and bacteria in the ground and they will most likely get very sick. you also want to introduce them to the outdoors slowly. i start by taking them out onto fresh grass for about an hour and working up to all day over a week or two.
i've not lost a single bird to illness. i haven't been doing this all that long, but a chick fatality rate of 5% is considered "good"- my chick fatality rate is 2% and that is with no vaccines and no medicated feed.
- Thread starter
- #13
Denim Deb
More Precious than Rubies
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2010
- Messages
- 14,993
- Reaction score
- 619
- Points
- 417
They've never been inside, so hopefully, they're pretty healthy. They were raised at home by my crippled hen. She's really enjoyed the experience.
Right now, besides the starter, I've been giving them some whole corn-not a lot, just a little, BOSS, probably about 1/2 cup a day, and various veggie peels, as well as some of the weeds I've been pulling out of the garden. Things that I'm not sure about, I don't throw in there. I had some potato peels, but didn't throw them in cuz I seemed to recall hearing that that wasn't good for them. Oh, and if I find any grubs or beetles while I'm splitting wood, I put them in a small dish (so I don't lose them), then put the dish in w/them. They've learned that that's extra goodies.
Right now, besides the starter, I've been giving them some whole corn-not a lot, just a little, BOSS, probably about 1/2 cup a day, and various veggie peels, as well as some of the weeds I've been pulling out of the garden. Things that I'm not sure about, I don't throw in there. I had some potato peels, but didn't throw them in cuz I seemed to recall hearing that that wasn't good for them. Oh, and if I find any grubs or beetles while I'm splitting wood, I put them in a small dish (so I don't lose them), then put the dish in w/them. They've learned that that's extra goodies.
lwheelr
Lovin' The Homestead
Our chickens in the garage are on wire, and our chicks are in a brooder. But we put dirt into the brooders from day one (adding a handful every day or so), and we put a cup in the cages with dirt in it. That provides grit, and keeps things more natural from a disease resistance perspective.
We also give them stuff from the garden that has not been washed (we don't use chemicals on the garden), so that is another means of exposure.
Just mentioning this, because if you do have to raise chickens on wire, it doesn't mean you have to do it like the big factory farms do.
We also give them stuff from the garden that has not been washed (we don't use chemicals on the garden), so that is another means of exposure.
Just mentioning this, because if you do have to raise chickens on wire, it doesn't mean you have to do it like the big factory farms do.
bibliophile birds
Lovin' The Homestead
you're very right. there are good ways to do things if you find yourself in that situation. yours sound in quite good hands.lwheelr said:
Deb, yours sound like they are getting everything they need to be happy and healthy. i think you'll do just fine on unmedicated feed!
Farmfresh
City Biddy
They have done studies on chickens that are raised with normal litter and those that have access to the out of doors, compared to chickens raised commercially.
Chickens raised in the farm tested "normal" ways spend time picking up tiny bits of litter and little bits of soil and stones. The studies showed that the little "bits" picked up by the chickens actually provide probiotics to the chickens digestive tract. When chickens have this opportunity they have more resistance to disease and are healthier than otherwise.
Personally I NEVER buy medicated feeds. If you think about it medicated feeds are much like if you were to get up every morning and take cold medicine ... just in case you are exposed to cold germs that day. A little on the ridiculous side.
I do the same for my animals as I do for my family. I work on providing the good nutrition, variety in the diet, fresh air, sunshine that makes a body work well. If we get sick - then I use medicine.
As for your birds. I would put them on a non-medicated diet for at least several weeks before processing them. This should give the medication a chance to pass out of your system before passing into you.
Chickens raised in the farm tested "normal" ways spend time picking up tiny bits of litter and little bits of soil and stones. The studies showed that the little "bits" picked up by the chickens actually provide probiotics to the chickens digestive tract. When chickens have this opportunity they have more resistance to disease and are healthier than otherwise.
Personally I NEVER buy medicated feeds. If you think about it medicated feeds are much like if you were to get up every morning and take cold medicine ... just in case you are exposed to cold germs that day. A little on the ridiculous side.
I do the same for my animals as I do for my family. I work on providing the good nutrition, variety in the diet, fresh air, sunshine that makes a body work well. If we get sick - then I use medicine.
As for your birds. I would put them on a non-medicated diet for at least several weeks before processing them. This should give the medication a chance to pass out of your system before passing into you.
Bubblingbrooks
Made in Alaska
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2010
- Messages
- 3,893
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 139
We NEVER use medicated feed. If they ain't sick, I ain't medicating!
We have never had problems.
We have never had problems.
lwheelr
Lovin' The Homestead
Exactly!
That's why we put down paper in the bottom of the brooders, and put dirt scattered on that. We tried litter, but man, they just made SUCH a mess of it! The dirt just worked better and served a triple purpose. I'm too cheap to pay for litter and grit if I don't have to anyway!
It is a bit of a foreign idea to some folks to use the same rules for feeding animals that they do people. Gotta be better though.
It has been very hard watching some of our chicks die though, simply because they would not, or could not, eat normally. I expect that to get radically better with the second generation. These were hatchery chicks, and I'm not sure I'll be buying from the same hatchery again. This time they were the only ones available late in the season when I had to order.
Farmfresh
City Biddy
I suspect that some of the starve outs that we experience is the result of a narrow genetic base in the chicks. Some birds are line bred and in bred to develop certain characteristics or as the result of a limited amount of birds available in the parent flocks.
Some breeds that are more rare have even greater problems with that, yet we all seem to buy "purebred" hatchery birds. It takes a lot of hard work and constant searching for new bloodlines to keep any purebred strain strong and healthy. That is why our barnyard mutt birds seldom have any problems with starve out right after hatching.
Some breeds that are more rare have even greater problems with that, yet we all seem to buy "purebred" hatchery birds. It takes a lot of hard work and constant searching for new bloodlines to keep any purebred strain strong and healthy. That is why our barnyard mutt birds seldom have any problems with starve out right after hatching.
lwheelr
Lovin' The Homestead
Ours don't starve after hatching - they develop deficiencies and problems after a few weeks. It has gotta be genetic though, because we found that certain colors do it more, and certain breeds do it more.
Our long term goal is to breed them hardier, so we'll have even rare breeds that are tough and self-sustainable in the barnyard.
We just gotta get to Texas first though, and right now we are stopped in our tracks. Everything is ready to go, just can't afford the gas to get there. Sigh.
Our long term goal is to breed them hardier, so we'll have even rare breeds that are tough and self-sustainable in the barnyard.
We just gotta get to Texas first though, and right now we are stopped in our tracks. Everything is ready to go, just can't afford the gas to get there. Sigh.
