Chicken breeds that are not gmo?

[dheltzel]

that was too harsh, and I resent that

You're right, I edited my post to remove that part.

Seems like there is a business opportunity to market to people who believe certain ways, and there is a huge precedent in other industries for doing just that. Just because I'm not a believer in the need for GMO-free chicks doesn't mean I should be bothered by others making money off the believers.

I hate transgenic patents (what is really meant by "genetically modified", an unfortunate name) and the agribusiness that has forced them upon us. Roundup ready crops are a bad idea. I'm personally less bothered by the gene they inserted than that fact that it encourages the dumping of many times more Roundup into the environment. I know it makes business sense for Monsanto, but I think that sort of incentive should be taken away from companies.

 

[Ntsees]

GMO stands for genetically modified organism.
My family and I are organic and non-gmo, and because of this we are wanting to raise our own "organic" chickens, we have much experience in raising them, also.
Since most chickens are raised on gmo feeds or are even genetically modified themselves we've been having a hard time searching for chickens that are not.
I am needing roosters and hens that have been raised organic/non gmo (preferably from a completely non gmo genetic history). Any breed of chicken larger than the bantam/banty breeds is okay.
We are located in the central Oklahoma area, if this helps.
If you know of any breeders please reply ASAP.
Thank you!

Here are my 2 cents: I recommend American gamefowl. To have a chicken that is free of gmo, you'll probably have to wait for the 3rd generation. 1st generation might have gmo's fed to them at some point in their life and so their eggs/chicks will have residual gmo (and therefore those chicks/chickens wont qualify under your standards). When the chicks hatch, they need protein and so you'll have to find sufficient amounts for them. When those chicks grow up on a gmo-free diet, their chicks will be the chickens you want to eat, etc. Good luck.

terminology: gmo = as stated before, it's foreign ~protein that has been injected into the plant/animal and incorporated into it's DNA/genes

selectively bred = an organism that has been bred for certain characteristics (e.g. more eggs and meat) and has not had foreign protein injected into them, such as the chicken in your profile picture

(off topic: I'm not for or against gmo's, but here's an elementary comment - an "apple" has a natural gene that causes the fruit to ripe later. That same gene is inserted into a "banana" in hopes of prolonging the "banana" from ripening so that the "banana" can have more time in between for export/import. When someone eats that "banana", they are eating the "banana" with the "apple" gene - so pretty much it's like eating a "banana" and an "apple" at the same time. All foods mix when it goes into the stomach (food is broken down into their essentials) so how is it different from eating a "banana" with an "apple" gene different from actually eating both a "banana" and an "apple"?)

 

[lvnshadow]

so what is gmo and why do the chickens grow so fast if they are not altered in some way. they grow so fast their legs give out.
I to want to buy chickens to raise that have no fast growing chemicals in them or toxic anything in them.
do not know where to find or how to start my own.
any information will be helpful
thanks
Lynn

 

[chickenscratch9]

I have found a hatchery that has several GMO free breeds. The breeder flock is fed non-GMO feed. They have New Hampshires, Delawares, Freedom Rangers, & Rhode Island Reds for sale. There is no chicken breed that is made in a laboratory. All breeds came from the domestication of wild fowl so technically all breeds are "GMO" or genetically modified by using genetics to reach a desirable trait.

 

[Ntsees]

...All breeds came from the domestication of wild fowl so technically all breeds are "GMO" or genetically modified by using genetics to reach a desirable trait.

The breeds we have today are a result of "selective breeding" for certain traits.

 

[thlayli]

so what is gmo and why do the chickens grow so fast if they are not altered in some way.  they grow so fast their legs give out.
I to want to buy chickens to raise that have no fast growing chemicals in them or toxic anything in them.
do not know where to find or how to start my own.
any information will be helpful
thanks
Lynn

Those chickens were selectively bred to be that way. Chicken farmers took the fastest growing heavy chickens and bred them until all they had was heavy, fast growing chickens. Any chemicals or toxins in a chicken come from the feed, and there are tons of organic feed options on the market now.

What you are looking for are called "heritage breeds". They are slow to mature and live much longer than hybridized or meat birds. Delawares, Orpingtons, and similar breeds are a good place to start. You can use websites like meyerhatchery.com to order chicks.