Medication and Antibiotics

I was feeding my chicks the other day and found the word "medicated" on the chick starter bag...hmmm. Then I was looking over my receipt from the hatchery, and I see my chicks were vaccinated. I looked into some of the diseases common in chickens and found the following ailments.

Marek's Disease
Infectious Bronchitis
Fowl Pox
Laryngotracheitis
Newcastle Disease
Fowl Cholera

Some vaccines are general vaccines given to the birds as a precaution, and others only need be given if there is a nearby outbreak or if you see warning signs in some birds, and will be used to save the birds who have not contracted it yet. I assume the vaccination they gave my chicks at the hatchery was a kind of bulk vaccine like most cats and dogs get. I sent an email to the hatchery to see exactly what was given to them, and I will update it here.

So why is the chick starter medicated if they received the vaccines? Because of our little friend Coccidiosis. Coccidiosis is a common parasitic disease of poultry which affects the digestive tract and is primarily found in chickens and turkeys. While the chick is young, it is very vulnerable to this parasite, because their immune systems are very fragile. The antibiotic added to my chick starter is Amprolium, which helps the chick survive the first couple of months, then you move off the starter and the chicken will live on without needing the medication.

Anti-Biotics in adult chicken feed is a different story. As every farmer has his/her own style this is a difficult thing to really define if this is the right thing for your flock. Anti-biotics in feed eventually comes through in the eggs and meat the chicken provides, which minimizes the effects of Anti-biotics as a whole. Mass production hatcheries are now slowly lowering the amount of anti-biotics they put in chicken feed to stop it from passing on to those who consume their eggs and meat. And its generally going out of style. But as small operations go...the smaller your operation is, the less you will need Anti-biotics. Sick birds can be quarantined until they bounce back or perish. Also, proper conditions and general cleanliness is a safe bet against most common ailments. Yet if you have 300 birds in a small space, this may be harder than you think. As I only have 5 birds, Im going to attempt to not use Anti-biotics at all in my adult feed, and may buy a small bag of it, or some additive when they seem sick.

I know what some of you are thinking...why not use seed instead of this pre-fab food? That is a question for another post.