Expensive food while they're not laying?

[kathytales]

I have been feeding only organic feeds, and sprouted grain, to get the best eggs for my customers. When the hens quit laying for the winter do I have to keep this up?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That's totally up to you. If the chickens weren't from organic stock and had not been on certified organic feed and certified organic pasture, then I'd switch to conventional since your eggs can't be certified organic anyway.

ETA
They don't have to quit laying for the winter. They have to quit while they're molting but if afterward, you start increasing daylength with a light on a timer, they'll start up again.

 

[kathytales]

I guess I worded that badly. My questions is, are they growing organically empowered eggs inside while resting in the winter? I get a better price for my eggs rest of the year because they are free range and fed sprouted organic grain and organic layer, which are expensive and time-consuming.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

They're not growing anything inside. The ovary is in a stasis state during molt. Nothing maturing or changing state.
There may be some residue of pesticides/herbicides going through the body when feeding conventional feed.

 

[Bonster]

There would be with organic as well. It's just different herbicides and pesticides.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

What significant herbicide and pesticide residues would be on organic crops?

 

[shortgrass]

If you were ever to cull or sell the hen for meat, she would no longer be considered "organic". But as long as eggs produced and marketed as " organic", are, in fact, beung FED organic, then the eggs are too.

All "organic" labeling stops as soon as you switch the feed to non organic. Keep in mind that some chemicals in commercial non organic feed have residues that can build up in the system, so IMO, I would give them 2-3 weeks after you go back to organic feed in the spring, before you start selling "organic" again, just to stay honest with your customers

Edit * I'd better clarify that none of the eggs OR the chicken can be "CERTIFIED organic", just " organically produced "..

 

[ChickenCanoe]

X2
I declare that they're organic fed and pastured. Just too difficult to certify.