# How long after feeding medicated food can you eat the eggs?



## HerkNav

My chickens just started laying eggs, but I've been feeding them medicated feed. How long after I take them off the medicated feed before the eggs are safe to eat?


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## kaufranc

Sorry can't help you there. I have never feed my chickens medicated feed. Maybe someone else on here can tell you. Good luck!


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## fuzziebutt

What medicated feed have they been eating? If it is chick starter, then you can probably go ahead and eat the eggs, but just to be safe, I would scramble the eggs and feed them back to the girls for about 2 weeks. It will help them with some protein and the eggs won't go to waste.


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## Wazza

What is the medication in the feed and what is it for? I am not a fan of routine use of antibiotics and wondered why medicated feed was considered 'better'. Surely there must be something wrong with the system if this is 'necessary'...?


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## fuzziebutt

Medicated chick starter vaccinates against coccidiosis, and helps with some of the vitamins they can use. It's just whatever you wanna use, but I used the medicated, to me it was better than possible risks.


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## HerkNav

I was using chick starter. I'm not a huge fan of the antibiotics either, but I bought my chicks locally and the breeder recommended using medicated starter. I was going to take them off of it as soon as their current feed runs out, which will be this week. I didn't expect to start getting eggs until August, so I didn't think it would be an issue. I was told that the medicated feed makes the eggs toxic.


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## Clearcut23

HerkNav said:


> I was using chick starter. I'm not a huge fan of the antibiotics either, but I bought my chicks locally and the breeder recommended using medicated starter. I was going to take them off of it as soon as their current feed runs out, which will be this week. I didn't expect to start getting eggs until August, so I didn't think it would be an issue. I was told that the medicated feed makes the eggs toxic.


That's good to know. I won't get eggs till August as well. I have 8 chicks 5 for eggs and 3 for meat. I bought them the big bag of medicated starter in April when I got them an it just ran out two weeks ago so now they are on grower feed. Will the medicated feed do anything to ruin the meat birds meat? The meat birds have maybe another month left. They also eat my grass and left over veggies and what not. They love watermelon.


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## HerkNav

Sorry, I don't know the answer about the meat birds, but I would give them some time to process the antibiotics before butchering. Maybe someone else has a better answer on the meat birds.


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## ReTIRED

Although I don't use it (medicated feed), I DOUBT that it has ANY effect upon the eggs.
( I feed my chickens leaves of garlic and alfalfa and hot chiles for "antibiotics". ...some other natural sources, also.)
I don't think that the "medication" in the feed would be allowed IF it was detrimental to the eggs OR the meat.

just MY unverified opinion.
-ReTIRED-


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## jwalk324

We were told to use it as well on our chicks! I am glad I found this app!


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## HerkNav

After some more research it turns out that it only takes chickens two weeks to build an immunity to coccidiosis, which is found in the dirt. You only need to feed medicated food for the first two weeks your chicks are on the ground. My wife read that Purina doesn't have anything in it that makes the eggs toxic, but someone could be allergic to antibiotics.


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## cluck13

A couple of suggestions

- Check the packaging of the feed & see if there are any directions on this. I'm coming from a grazier angle & here any drenches/vaccines we use tell us if there is a 'with holding period'. 

- Or contact the company either through their website or direct & ask the question.


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## kjohnstone

I didn't feed my chicks any medicated feed, they are now more than 3 months and all healthy. I suppose the eggs you get in the store are from chickens that are perpetually medicated.?


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## HerkNav

No, once they build an immunity the medicated feed isn't required, but who knows what you get when you buy store bought. I'm pretty sure the commercial definition of free range is that the chickens can see outside.


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## WeeLittleChicken

Commercial "free range" chickens means they are not kept in battery cages - and in some states must have access to the outside (although this is usually a small concrete floor dog kennel sort of set up that they don't use anyway because they feel safer inside!)

These are commercial free range chickens (granted this is an extreme example - the free range hen houses here aren't so bad.). 









Medicated feed comes from the need to prevent diseases in the laziest way possible. What I mean by this is that most home-raised chickens do fine on unmedicated - it was developed for these large commercial egg farms who can get new chicks from several hatcheries or distributors at the same time to fill their needs and don't have the time or desire to follow proper quarantining so instead the medicate everyone regardless if they are sick or not to prevent chick death at plague-like proportions.

That all being said there is a debate going on right now about whether or not this is harmful to people eating the eggs and chickens. It is aiding in the breeding of "super bugs" but as far as what it's doing to people eating these products? I don't know, but personally I wouldn't eat those eggs for at least two weeks.... but that's really just me following a gut instinct and I will be honest about that.


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## Chippets

Wow. That's not at all what I consider to be a free range chicken!!!


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## fowlmouthgirls

How old are your birds and how many do you have? It seems strange to me that you would be still feeding medicated starter to birds that just started laying? I was told to feed my six one bag, then when I'm out to switch them to a Pullet developer, I'm transitioning to Coyote Creek, and have about a weeks worth of medicated left and my girls are 4- 7 weeks.


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## HerkNav

They are off of the medicated feed now. I was told by the breeder to keep them on the medicated feed for 16 weeks. here in Florida coccidiosis can be bad


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## HerkNav

Trying to edit and accidentally sent the previous post. As I was saying coccidiosis can be bad here and I didn't know any better. The guy had a lot of chickens, so I figured he knew what he was talking about. I only have one hen laying and she is earlier than she should be. I'm planning to wait a couple of weeks to eat any eggs


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## fowlmouthgirls

He probably does it because he has so many, so that would make sense.


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## Bee

The med in medicated feeds is Amprollium, which is a thyamine inhibitor...not an antibiotic. It wouldn't hurt you to eat the eggs as you have stopped the feed and the Amprollium will soon be out of their systems. The most it can do to you is inhibit your thyamine uptake for a bit, but I'm sure that action would be minimal. 

I don't feed medicated and never have. It's not necessary if you take a little of the bedding or soils from where your chicks will be living and place it in their brooder...that way they can get a natural but limited exposure to the cocci load in the soils.

I brooded my latest chicks right on the deep litter of the coop floor where my adult flock live as I wanted them to get the full exposure as soon as possible. I fed fermented feeds and gave mother ACV in the water as a preventative to cocci overload. 

I like the birds to develop their own immunities and the earlier the better...those with weak immune systems at birth are naturally eliminated and those with strong ones are the ones that will be a hardy and long lived flock.


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## HerkNav

Thanks for the advice about adding dirt to the bedding. I will do that with my next batch of chicks.


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## Chippets

I know ACV is apple cider vinegar, but what is "mother" ACV?


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## ReTIRED

It is an unfiltered, unpasteurized Apple Cider Vinegar.....which has the microbes in it which converted it from Cider to Vinegar.
Those ACV are listed as being that way. ( on the Label )
MOST Apple Cider vinegar has been "processed" such that the "Mother" is no longer present....and therefore provides NO Probiotics for the use of the Intestinal tract.

Clear-as-MUD....._right ?
_*Ha-Ha ! 
*( a very good question, incidentally.)
-ReTIRED-


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## Nm156

Eggs from Hens fed amprolium are safe to it.
Laying hens can be fed amprolium, and eggs are safe for human consumption. from http://www.nutrenaworld.com/knowled...try-feed-frequently-asked-questions/index.jsp at the bottom of the page

US tolerance levels of 8 mg/kg. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2919391


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## seminole wind

Just us, we keep the eggs from the wormed or medicated eggs for us. But we don't give them out.


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