Our Home-Grown Melamine Problem

[Ladyhawke1]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/17/opinion/17mcwilliams.html?_r=1

Learn to ask questions and read labels. We chose to grow and eat our own stock. Let’s make sure our animals are safely fed for our own sake.

 

[speckledhen]

Geez, what next? Wonder if this could be the cause of my own two year old hens dying from laying internally, one by one. Seems an impossible to fix situation, could be this, could be that, etc.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

Typical NY Times Op Ed: long on speculation and innuendo but sorely lacking on facts.

Jim

 

[Wildsky]

Its just a matter of time before some catastrophy hits us again.

 

[Village Farm]

Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay :

Typical NY Times Op Ed: long on speculation and innuendo but sorely lacking on facts.

That's pretty much the definition of "opinion and editorial." If something is heavy on facts, then it's referred to as "news."

Are you saying that other newspapers typically publish things as "opinion" or "editorial" that are fact-laden, non-speculative, and lacking in innuendo? Can you provide any evidence that the Times is significantly different in this respect than any other papers?​

 

[luckitri]

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/11/22/deceptive-protein-toxin-is-becoming-more-widely-spread-in-your-food.aspx

Ahem, Lady Hawke?

How can I find out the safety of the feed I buy locally? The stores don't want to tell me anything. They often repackage it with their name on it. They tell me that there is only one supplier for the whole west of the nation. If that is true, then I think there is a good chance that it has imported wheat gluten and consequently, melamine.

I have read a couple of posts on here about making ones own feed but honestly I have no idea where to get the various ingredients. Also ratios to mix and what to feed my babies are all issues for me. I need someone to make this easy for me so I can just do it. Don't have time for all the studying and figuring.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I would suggest you read the labels on the chicken feed you're buying, to get an idea of what's in it. During the time period when pets were dieing, the key ingredient to look for was wheat gluten. Now there are also issues with contaminated milk chocolate from China. I think gluten being a white powder and milk being white, make adding the melamine easy to hide. Although, I'm sure they could make melamine in other colors. Criminals are very resourceful people.

Whole grains that are bought and processed into feed, are not something that I feel would be any kind of risk. Not just that you don't need to worry if you buy whole grain, but that I don't worry about feed I buy that was made from whole grains.

There were one heck of a lot of facts in that piece. Gluten from China was contaminated with melamine. A lot of pets did die from it. Commercial chickens were fed melamine. The sludge from city waste water, including anything that gets flushed down the drain, is sold as fertilizer.

The only speculation I saw, was about what pasture plants may be treated with and what's going to end up in the food chain that way. Well, I don't know if melamine is a problem. I really have no idea. I do know that plants take up plenty of other chemicals and heavy metals from the soil they're grown in, so I'm careful about what I put on my soil. So are organic growers. I believe plenty of studies have been done on that, too. I don't use waste water sludge to grow my vegetables. Not because of melamine, but because of all the other stuff that can be in it.

I do the best I can, every day. I try to be a good steward for my land and the animals living on it. I vote for people that I think will address these issues. I try to find out as many facts as I can about problems that come up, so I can make the safest choices available for my household. I try not to worry excessively about things I have no control over or about scary unknown things that might happen.

I can't imagine what anguish the parents of all the children who have died around the world because of Chinese products have gone through. After reading that stuff, at some point, I just need to go outside and get some fresh air.

 

[luckitri]

Woodland Woman, the stores repackage the feed and it does not say what is in it.

Just this a.m. one of my chicks had bloody mucous for poop so now I am in a quandary. They are so young and in close quarters for now (especially at night). Got lots of research to do - and what if it is melamine in the feed causing it?

 

[Felicitas]

I am pretty sure that our late, beloved greyhound, who died of very sudden renal failure in the spring of 2005, was a victim of melamine. She was perfectly healthy one day and the next, her kidneys just gave out. A few months later, the melamine story broke and the food we had been giving her was on the list of tainted foods. I felt so angry and helpless at the time. Now, knowing that the stuff is apparently everywhere and that it is likely that all of my family and everyone we know has been ingesting it for years, the feeling is nearly overwhelming.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Luckitri, what area do you live in? Maybe someone on here can help you find a better place to buy feed.

You could also try one more time to get some specific information from them. You could write down what information you are looking for, like an ingredients list for this feed or corporate contact information for the manufacturer of this feed and put your own contact information on it, so they can get back to you. Does it have any kind of label at all? I doubt there is a problem with melamine in your chicken feed, but you should still know what you are feeding your chickens.

As Felicitas mentioned with her dog, the main issue with melamine is the kidneys. In the case of your chicks, I would be most concerned with cocci. That is the most common cause of bloody poop in chicks. I would post in the emergency and disease section for help with your chicks. You could also look at previous threads on that. It's better to start treatment sooner for that, rather than later.

Felicitas, I am so sorry you lost your dog. I read so many heartbreaking accounts at the time. My husband has suddenly developed kidney problems and we have no idea why. Neither do the doctors. Maybe that's why I sound so much crabbier on here the last couple of days. I've wondered if I should just stay off BYC for a few days. Although, I haven't been banned, yet! That is probably my only cheerful thought today!