Second chicken question

[MontyJ]

Hey chicken people, I have another question.

I have the chicks on 24% protien chick starter, as recommended. However, I want to get them on the medicated chick starter, but it's only 18% protien. Do I worry about the lower protien? How long should I feed them the medicated? Should I offer both?

Finally, one of the meat birds still has some runny poop. It's not squirting out, but is definately much thinner than the others, so much so, that it's bottom is constantly dirty. Any recommendations? There is no blood in the poo. Other than that, the chick seems perfectly normal, eating and drinking and generally goofing off like the rest of them.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I dont do the meaties so I cant help you specifically with them.

Check the label to see what the medicated is in the medicated feed. Its practically always going to be Amprolium for the feeds that are intended for laying flocks, but some feeds intended for meaties can have something else.

If it is Amprolium, that is not an antibiotic. It will not mess up any probiotics they might have in their system. Amprolium targets the bugs that cause Cocci, nothing else. There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding medicated feed. It will not harm the chicks in any way. If the bugs that cause Cocci are not present it wont do any good, but it will not cause any harm.

Cocci can live in the ground. There is no guarantee that any piece of ground has it, but it is pretty common. Them having some of the Cocci bugs in their guts is not a bad thing. I consider it a good thing so they can build up their immunity to it. The younger they are, the easier it is for them to build up their immunities. I take some dirt from the run and feed that to them about Day 2 or 3 in the brooder so they can build up those immunities.

The problem with Cocci comes in when the numbers of bugs causing it gets out of hand in their guts. Cocci can live in wet manure. What usually causes a problem with Cocci is the brooder, coop, or run gets wet and they eat enough of the bugs in the wet manure that the numbers build up to where they cause a problem. It usually takes them 2 to 3 weeks for them to build up their immunity.

Some other good things to know: There are several different strains of Cocci. Immunity to one does not give immunity to all strains. Some strains of Cocci are stronger than others.

The dosage of Amprolium in medicated feed is not strong enough to cure a problem with Cocci. It does not totally get rid of the bugs in their system. It reduces the reproductive rate enough so they can usually get their immunity without getting sick. With a stronger strain of Cocci or a wet brooder they can still get sick, but the medicated feed greatly reduces the chance they will get sick.

If the medicated in the feed is not Amprolium, it might be something that kills the bugs and does not allow the chickens to develop immunity. Meaties dont live long enough to need immunity.

I personally do not use medicated feed. I keep my brooder fairly dry and see that they are exposed to whatever is in my ground early enough that they can develop immunity. Not that there is anything wrong with feeding it, just that I havent seen a need to.

When and how long will medicated feed medicated with Amprolium do any good? About three weeks after they are exposed to the Cocci bug. After that they should have immunity. That may be while they are still in the brooder or after they first hit the ground.

Again, Im not talking meaties. Im talking dual purpose birds intended to be laying birds, with the excess to be eaten. I have no problem feeding them a higher protein feed for maybe the first 4 to 8 weeks. That gets them off to a real good start. But whenever the bag of feed runs out after 4 weeks, I switch to a lower percent protein feed. My theory is that after they are fully feathered out, Ill reduce the protein so their body rate of growth slows to match the rate of skeleton and internal organ growth and maturity.

I have used 24% protein starter with chicks when I also had a turkey in with them, and those chicks did well. But my normal feed regimen is 20% Combined Starter/Grower for the first 4 to 8 weeks, then a 16% Grower until I switch them to a 16% Layer.

 

[bj taylor]

i kept my chickens on medicated chick starter until they laid their first egg then switched to flock raiser. i haven't had to be quite as careful w/dietary requirements since they are mostly free range. i did feed them dried mealworms during the winter because i felt they needed the extra protein boost to help keep their body heat up. they're wild about it and i would throw a handful out to them once or twice a day.
i didn't give them anything extra when they were babies until they were feathered out. then i felt i could give them treats and once i started that, i had to supply them grit until they could range on their own.

i keep wanting to do meaties, but dh is being a wet blanket about it.

 

[catjac1975]

We use medicated feed for the first 2 weeks. No science to it -it is just what we do. Some times the vent gets dirty and backs up. Wash it with warm water and a mild soap. We used dish soap. Some times one just dies.Dirty vents are not a good sign. We have brought back sickly chicks only to have one die later. We never kept track but I always suspected it was the one we rescued. We always feed them 24 hours a day for a while and when then are big enough to go without light at night, withhold food at night for a while. They can grow so fast the leg strength does not keep up and that will lead to lameness and then death. Keep an eye on the legs for distortion. They need a roost for when they are bigger or the breasts will grow smaller on one side. We always let them get real big 7lbs and bigger. It always happened that near the end a few would just keel over and die. Unscientifically I think they grow too fast for their heart. Soooo sweet and delicious. We have not raised meat birds for the last few years because our butcher closed and we cannot find a reasonable one. I could not do the deed. Not out of attachment-just too gross for me. Guess I'm just a big chicken.

 

[seedcorn]

Hey chicken people, I have another question.

I have the chicks on 24% protien chick starter, as recommended. However, I want to get them on the medicated chick starter, but it's only 18% protien. Do I worry about the lower protien? How long should I feed them the medicated? Should I offer both?

Finally, one of the meat birds still has some runny poop. It's not squirting out, but is definately much thinner than the others, so much so, that it's bottom is constantly dirty. Any recommendations? There is no blood in the poo. Other than that, the chick seems perfectly normal, eating and drinking and generally goofing off like the rest of them.

HI Protein food will keep their poop runny. With meat birds, because they grow so fast, hi protein is required otherwise they will steal it from other body parts, like heart which is pure muscle (protein).

 

[MontyJ]

Thanks folks. I bought a 5 pound bag of medicated feed. I think I'll just feed both until the medicated is gone and call it good. It is Amprolium. I'm alternating Probiotics and plain water every day. Only the one meatie has slightly runny poop. I'll just watch it and see what happens. The meaties have doubled in size since I brought them home. They are going to have to go into their own brooder very soon.

 

[Mickey328]

If it were me, I'd leave the medicated stuff. Totally a personal opinion, but I'm trying to get away from that stuff, which is why I'm trying to produce as much of our own food as we can, so our critters are only treated if they're actually ill.

For that poopy butt, I'd suggest keeping it as clean as you can and adding some active culture ACV to the water. If it's not ill, it probably just needs some good "flora" in the tum-tum

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

the medicated stuff is really only to protect them from getting some forms of cocci that they would be susceptible to when they are chicks under 8 weeks old. if you are keeping them supplied with clean water, feed and keep their shavings or bedding areas clean there should be little to no issues with cocci. giving them occasional yogurt or probiotics is good to keep that gut flora going.

if you are going to switch feed over you want to do it gradually so it doesn't shock their digestive systems. so i would mix it.

 

[MontyJ]

I'm giving them the probiotic water every other day. I actually had no choice but to mix the feed. When I opened the bag of medicated, the side split wide open. I thought "what the heck?" So I mixed it all together. The chicks get fresh water every day, and every 2-3 hours throughout the day, the water is freshened. We take it outside and dump the nasty water and let it refill. I changed the bedding this afternoon. I also do daily butt inspections. Any sign of clumping around the vent is removed with a clean cotton ball and warm water. They don't particularly like it, but then again, I'm not exactly thrilled about it either. Usually it's only one or two chicks. Otherwise, they all seem pretty happy.

 

[baymule]

Sooooo.......Monty......how does feel to be a chicken butt wiper?? Get the man a case of Charmin!!