Non Gmo or Non Soy?

[Ashleys backyard farm]

Hi everyone !
Long story short my non gmo & non soy feed I usually get for my flock is not going to be an option anymore.
I’m having such a tough time finding an alternative that’s not going to make me go broke or one that I’m going to have to order online.
I’d prefer to buy locally or at Tractor Supply.
If I can’t get a feed with both which one should I get? One that’s Non Gmo but has Soy? Or one that’s Soy free but not Organic ?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

that answer depends entirely on your reasons for being non Soy and non GMO in the first place. Let us know, and we can offer intelligent responses to your inquiry.

 

[Brooks_]

Would like to add that non-gmo does not necessarily mean organic. However, organic will mean non-gmo.

 

[TaylorGlade]

Tractor supply sells an organic one called dumor. I *think* it's made by Purina, but I could be mistaken on that. That's what we feed our chickens. It's not terribly priced.

 

[Burnlem]

The Dumor and others at Tractor Supply have soy. the dumor has dehulled soy bean meal. Any thoughts on soy in general for chickens?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Yes, @Burnlem, I have a few thoughts on Soy. Not retyping everything, just linking one of the many discussions. That one has both pro-soy and anti-soy adherents, so enjoy the back and forth - should offer a more nuanced view.

As regards chicken feed, I'm pro soy. As regards human consumption, I recognize a lot of caveats for persons with specific medical conditions - but not others.

A search of the feed forum will find a lot on keyword "soy", and also that I am a frequent poster. Plenty to research, if you are interested.

CA teacher study here. https://www.calteachersstudy.org/ Seems to be the largest, longest, study of human nutrition and health outcomes ever conducted.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Tractor supply sells an organic one called dumor. I *think* it's made by Purina, but I could be mistaken on that. That's what we feed our chickens. It's not terribly priced.

Dumor is a house brand. It uses a "recipe" (not to be thought of like a baking recipe - because its not 10# of this, 10# of that, but rather a formulation intended to achieve a specific output within an acceptable range from a specified set of ingredients whose by weight inclusion may vary from lot to lot) which was originally developed by Purina.

As best can be determined, TSC bids out the manufacture to some number of regional mills to produce on local lines but bag with TSC's labels. Many, possibly most, of those local mills are owned by Land 'O Lakes (who owns Purina Animal Feed here in the US). Some are not. If you read the bag very carefully and there are a lot of bags on display , you will see different labels "Produced by" and "Produced for" at the bottom in the small print, and indicators not only of different lots, but different mill locations. The further you are towards the extreme edges of the supply chain, the less likely you will see multiple mills.

 

[TaylorGlade]

Dumor is a house brand. It uses a "recipe" (not to be thought of like a baking recipe - because its not 10# of this, 10# of that, but rather a formulation intended to achieve a specific output within an acceptable range from a specified set of ingredients whose by weight inclusion may vary from lot to lot) which was originally developed by Purina.

As best can be determined, TSC bids out the manufacture to some number of regional mills to produce on local lines but bag with TSC's labels. Many, possibly most, of those local mills are owned by Land 'O Lakes (who owns Purina Animal Feed here in the US). Some are not. If you read the bag very carefully and there are a lot of bags on display , you will see different labels "Produced by" and "Produced for" at the bottom in the small print, and indicators not only of different lots, but different mill locations. The further you are towards the extreme edges of the supply chain, the less likely you will see multiple mills.

This makes sense. I live in Florida where Land O Lakes is headquartered

 

[AidKD]

I don't know that I would necessarily look for organic chicken feed. If you can find some feed that doesn't have soy, but isn't organic, then I'd probably go with that. Just about 100% of the time "organic" means nothing. The "guidelines" in order for something to fall under the term "organic" means that even harsher chemicals can be used on the product.

 

[Krux5506]

What brand feed were you using?

Lately I've been feeding my flock non soy pellets from Modesto Milling. This is available online and pretty reasonably priced especially through bigger retailers who often will offer promo codes which is when I'll stock up. What i like about the Modesto non soy feed is that it also doesn't contain canola meal which is just a byproduct from canola oil production. Not exactly super anti canola however there's plenty of weird stuff surrounding the history of it that I'd rather just avoid if possible. Now on the other hand their corn free/soy free does have canola which I do not quite understand but, whatever, I'm not opposed to corn anyway for my flock.

Tractor Supply has a brand called Cluck & Co that's soy free. I haven't tried their layer feed for my flock, it seems from reviews that most people complain that it's too dusty but I'd rather steer clear of it if there's canola free options like Modesto that I'm easily able to get. Cluck & co is pretty good though for a TSC brand, their chick starter and scratch have been a staple for me.