Just realized my feed store sold me medicated chick starter and it took 9 days to figure out why my new chicks were sick

Wren Foster · 2026-11-12T15:05:07.065918+00:00

I picked up a bag from the local co-op in Springfield last month and assumed it was plain starter because the label looked the same as always. About a week in, four of my six chicks got droopy and stopped eating, and I spent 9 days trying everything from electrolytes to a heat lamp swap. Turns out the bag was medicated with amprolium, and I had been mixing it with a vitamin water that cut its effectiveness. My vet said the combo can cause a thiamine issue if you overdo it, and I felt awful for not reading the fine print. I switched to non-medicated starter and plain water, and the chicks perked up in 3 days. Now I check the feed tag every single time before I pay, not just the brand name. Has anyone else grabbed a bag without checking the medication label, and how do you keep track of which feed is which?

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Just realized my feed store sold me medicated chick starter and it took 9 days to figure out why my new chicks were sick | Backyard Chicken Keepers - Rigidtalk