Organic vs. Regular chicken feed...input? - Page 3

Sorry if this is a bit off-topic but it has me re-thinking the whole organic debate since an organic label seems the only sensible way to minimize the GMO content of my food.

I've just been reading about Montsanto's first genetically modified vegetable crop** - sweet corn - which being sold (un-labeled) at grocery stores. That means the BT toxin that they've introduced into the corn is in the food we eat (not just down the food chain somewhere).

http://www.non-gmoreport.com/articles/september2011/monsantogmsweetcorn.php

** field corn is considered a grain, not a vegatable. 86% of field corn is GMO http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food

I'm lucky that my feed store mills their own GMO-free chicken feed. It is priced half way between the conventional and organic.

Does anyone know what percentage of their conventional chicken feed is GMO? 

ps. Are you satisfied with my references Onstad1? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by nan4848 

I buy organic. And I'm trying to stock up enough to last through the winter, at least. The drought situation in this country is really serious. Here in the midwest, farmers are starting to sell the livestock, because the cost of feeding them is skyrocketing.
 

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/696347/stocking-up-on-chicken-feed#post_9447078

Just be aware that you shouldn't buy more than about 4 months of *cracked* grains.

I vote organic! I buy organic chick starter and organic cracked corn. The rest of what I feed is conventionally grown.

I usually pay between $13 and $15 for a 50 pound bag of non organic. I have actually never seen organic feed in my area....I have never asked either 

All of you who say organic feed or even NO GMO feed is readily available, should count your blessings!!  I live in Mississippi, where apparently organic or NO GMO feed is unheard of!  Does anybody know of a place in or bordering Mississippi that sells it?  We are, after all, one of the most unhealthy states!  I've been searching for a place to buy pre-mixed feed, or would be willing to mix my own feed if I could find the ingredients.  I may end up having to order all the ingredients or feed, but wanted to cut down on costs as much as possible, since money is a factor for our family.  Is it more natural to feed scratch than the layer feed?  Wouldn't you need to supplement the scratch with more protein, like maybe meal worms?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daze N Paradise 

All of you who say organic feed or even NO GMO feed is readily available, should count your blessings!!  I live in Mississippi, where apparently organic or NO GMO feed is unheard of!  Does anybody know of a place in or bordering Mississippi that sells it?  We are, after all, one of the most unhealthy states!  I've been searching for a place to buy pre-mixed feed, or would be willing to mix my own feed if I could find the ingredients.  I may end up having to order all the ingredients or feed, but wanted to cut down on costs as much as possible, since money is a factor for our family.  Is it more natural to feed scratch than the layer feed?  Wouldn't you need to supplement the scratch with more protein, like maybe meal worms?

Scratch can be two-grain or more grains. Around here I have seen two-grain. It is a fine place to start, but you are correct- they need other things:

http://www.mofga.org/Publications/MaineOrganicFarmerGardener/Summer2003/Chickens/tabid/1481/Default.aspx

http://www.lionsgrip.com/recipes.html

http://www.ca.uky.edu/smallflocks/Nutrition.html

These are fun links (see the grains and protein under "feed ingredients" in the above link).

http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Making-Poultry-Feeds-1.html

http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Making-Poultry-Feeds-2.html

In addition, I have found it very useful to buy a poultry nutrition book (I like Heuser's "Feeding Poultry").

The only way you can assure that you and your chickens are eating non-gmo food is to buy organic.  And that sucks because I can't afford organic and I have never seen a feed that claims to be non-gmo without the organic label.  Around here 50# of organic feed will run you about $30ish and traditional feed is about half that.  I wish I could find a non-gmo feed that wasn't organic, because honestly the gmos scare me much more than the pesticides.  Besides that, gmo crops are designed to be sprayed heavily with pesticide and herbicide without dying so you are probably getting maximum exposure to chemicals when you (or your chickens) consume gmos.