Medicated/unmedicated growers pellets

[frias]

I want to mix the 7 week old chicks and mum with the laying ladies as soon as possible. I have been to 3 suppliers to get growers pellets without medication but have been unable to source any. I was able to find a pet shop selling unmedicated chick crumbs but they don't sell the growers. Stockists that do say the medication is there as the chicks need it. Has anyone else had problems getting unmedicated or I wondered if I only found out it was medicated because I asked. Obviuosly the layers will eat the growers too once all in together and I thought they shouldn't have the medication because it might get into the eggs. Sometimes I do regret letting the broody sit. Especially as I still haven't found homes for the 3 boys.

Also would some kind and clever person do a sticky on how to post photos. I would love to but was born too soon for all this technical stuff!

[di]

Can't be much use with your first question but as far as posting pics....Under the normal box to write your post are two little boxes,click on the one that says go advanced.I think(been a while)you have to scroll down a little & you come across a box that says manage attatchments,click on this & you will then be given the option to browse in your pics,find the one you want & click on "upload pics",can be quick & other times you may need to go make a cuppa,but it will tell you when it's done.Close that box & then go to the bottom & submit reply.
You won't see the pic until it's posted.
Also,if your pic sizes aren't correct it won't work...thankfully ours always are otherwise I wouldn't have the foggiest how to alter them!

[Polly Fouracre]

Buy organic feed. The only "medication" my poultry have (unless ill, of course!) is garlic powder in their mash twice a week. Keeps them worm free, prevents a lot of infections and, I believe, deters mites etc.
Organic feed is roughly twice as expensive as normal feed but if you and your family will be eating the eggs/meat it is still about half the price of buying organic produce.

[TPeers]

Get the small holder range growers pellet - it's non-medicated.

You can buy on-line if you have to but my local farm sell it so maybe one near you will too.

[bluemoon]

We raised our growers on Smallholder Range growers pellets. They are extremely healthy birds and I am very pleased with it. It's a natural feed, with no GM ingredients or yolk pigments etc, but not strictly organic so is quite a bit cheaper than an organic equivalent. We feed the layers Smallholder too. If you go on their web-site you can input your postcode and find a local supplier. Some suppliers who don't stock it will get it for you if you ask. I felt reasonably confident giving them unmedicated as they were on land which hadn't previously been used for chickens, if chickens had been there before I might have been worried about a build up of disease-causing organisms.

[Snadger]

Buy organic feed. The only "medication" my poultry have (unless ill, of course!) is garlic powder in their mash twice a week. Keeps them worm free, prevents a lot of infections and, I believe, deters mites etc.
Organic feed is roughly twice as expensive as normal feed but if you and your family will be eating the eggs/meat it is still about half the price of buying organic produce.

The main reason I don't use organic pellets is that I can't justify the extra cost for what I believe to be an inferior product. After doing a bit of research I realised the producers are allowed to add up to 30% of inorganic material if an organic equivalent can't be sourced and still market the pellets as organic! The stuff that's added as supplements to inorganic pellets is added for a reason i.e. vitamins etc They ARE required for healthy growth. In the organic pellets these are omitted............but no other organic substitute is added..................hence my belief that it is an inferior product!

[Bramble-Poultry]

As everyone has said the most widely available ACS free forumla is Small Holder Pellets.

Snadger - I buy absloluetley nothing organic - when you have been on as many organic holdings as I have and actually seen what they are "allowed" to use than you realise you are actually paying a premium price for an extremely substandard product - I think many people would be shocked as to what actually constitutes organic because I am sure most people are not aware and think its all no pesticides, fertilizers etc etc - well sorry folks its not far from it in fact!

[di]

I'm with you both on the Organic thing.Chap at our feedstore let me in on a few of their secrets...IMHO(& it would seem Snadgers & BP's)it really isn't what they make it out to be!

[Polly Fouracre]

I am truly shocked to learn this! There is a label on my sacks of feed saying you must be sure that the product is compatible with your feeding regime but thought nothing of it!
I shall think very carefully in the next day or two as to what feed I order next time.
I suppose the only sure way is to grow your own feed for livestock, but how many of us have the land or the time!!
I will also be sending searching letters to the feed manufacturers asking why these issues are not clearly given on the feed labels.

[RichmondHens]

I don't buy organic, but I do buy GM free. I use Marriages feeds (an Essex company) and their growers are medication-free. They don't do med-free chick crumb, so for that I buy Smallholder Range.

For the non-intensive rearer, it shouldn't be necessary to give the chicks an ACS in their feed. Coccidiosis usually rears its head in dirty, wet conditions, and as long as your chicks and growers are kept clean and dry and you are not raising them in 100s then there shouldn't be a problem.

[frias]

Thanks all. I will try and order some Smallholder growers. I won't be eating the chicks. Stupid I know as I've eaten chicken tonight but somehow I couldn't bring myself to eat a chicken that's lived as a pet. It would be like eating the family cat or guinea pig. I will just have to try harder to find homes for the boys. They live in my back garden with very close neighbours so hope they are late crowers as I can't keep them.

I don't usually buy anything organic as it usually goes off quicker and at my age I need all the preservatives I can get.

[Snadger]

Thanks all. I will try and order some Smallholder growers. I won't be eating the chicks. Stupid I know as I've eaten chicken tonight but somehow I couldn't bring myself to eat a chicken that's lived as a pet. It would be like eating the family cat or guinea pig. I will just have to try harder to find homes for the boys. They live in my back garden with very close neighbours so hope they are late crowers as I can't keep them.

I don't usually buy anything organic as it usually goes off quicker and at my age I need all the preservatives I can get.

Tastier than a cat I would think!

[di]

Frias,I'm not going to try to change your mind...(OK maybe just a little).I really didn't think I'd be able to eat any of our boys...and I must add that as yet we haven't,so still may back out of it last minute!
But we've since decided that it's what WE should do(we as in us,not you & me!).As soon as we knew which were which we put them in separate runs & try our hardest not to pay much attention to our boys,they get fed,water & cleaned out & that's it.(OK sometimes they get admired for a while & one got a cuddle from Andi today as he had a bit of a limp...cock not Andi!
Realistically I know that if we either sell them for 50p or give them away,chances are the new owner only has Sunday roast on their mind.
Please don't think I'm trying to talk you into it,more pointing out how we've talked our way into doing it.IMHO there's no right or wrong/better or worse,we're all different sharing only the common factor that we're all dotty about our chooks!Also,as yet,it's all wordsOur handsome fellas are still being fattened,so there's still time to chicken out of it.

Now...fifteen or so weeks from now,when Boo comes of age,I may well be speaking differently!....the comb just won't stop growing!I wonder if cellotape would work?

[MaureenHall]

Di I know just where you're coming from!!! I'm feeling exactly the same!! Every batch of eggs that I hatch I tell myself that the boys are going to be dinner, but (luckily so far) I haven't had to do anything about it yet. I'm just hoping all the "Bluebelle" chicks are girls, otherwise there's potentially 5 dinners growing up here - and if Basil and Rowan keep up with their early morning serenade there's another 2

[RichmondHens]

Before every clutch of eggs you set, you have to have a think about what you will do with the cocks. Bear in mind at least 50% (more in my experience) will be boys so before getting seduced by the thought of fluffy little cheepers, remember you will have to deal with the cocks either by re-homing or eating. I almost never bother trying to re-home, unless someone particularly asks for one, and we eat all the surplus males (well, there are one or two "pets" around the place). I have at least 20 cocks still to "deal with", possibly more as my last (definitely last for this year) hatch is due this week, although they won't have grown on enough to eat until early Spring.