Do I Really Need Expensive, Organic, Non-GMO Feed?

[Birdinhand]

One correction: Generally Recognized as Safe is GRAS (not “grass”, and is usually pronounced with a different “a” sound than grass at least in the industry I spent the bulk of my career). I’ve worked in an industry completely reliant on GRAS where the largest department (after accounting) was regulatory...everything had to be GRAS.

thanks for pointing that out, I corrected that reference.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

I have a flock of six pullets, age 4-8 months. A buff Ameracauna, a splash Ameracauna, a black Ameracauna, an Olive Egger, a Silkie and a huge Cochin. I have been feeding them Purina crumbles but I know that many BYC members feed something like Scratch & Peck’s organic, non-GMO, corn-free feed. My question is, are there actually benefits to spending the extra money on this type of high end feed? I don’t need corn-free feed (and don’t really understand why chickens would need it) because I actually feed my chickens cracked corn as a treat. Do you buy one of the more expensive, high end feeds? If so, why? Or do you stick with something like a Purina feed? How come? Thanks for any and all feedback.

Not at all.

 

[ladyearth]

heck yeah we are what we eat.. I'm surprised the poor things even still alive..no wonder so many of us are cancer ridden, plus who knows how many poor animals suffer from the crap that corporations that run our world) put on our foods and poor defenseless animals, Besides G 5, chemicals etc dumped in our precious much beloved WATER
even no longer have the girls. I feed the poor (mud hole penned up living )girls down the road some human scraps. weeds from my unchemical laden yard and bought Organic pellets plus filtered water..
Ill jump off my soapbox now and ask what I come back here and ask LOL

 

[MissNiss]

I have been buying Peck and Scratch because I like the wholeness of the grains the pellets look too processed, I try to feed my family organic as possible. The pellets also seem to mold my yard as the grains don't.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

The trouble is with things like corn that are pollinated by the wind. People will claim that, because pollen from a crop of GMO corn blew over into the next field and pollinated that non-GMO corn, they now own the non-GMO corn's crop because it's been pollinated with their copyrighted GMO pollen.
The issues with GMOs are primarily due to human usage of them, not the GMOs themselves.

There is one instance where a farmer who was so tight that he squeeked when he walked who spraided his crop of canola with roundup (several times) then used the seed from the canola plants that survived to reseed his field. No farmer has ever been suied to my knowledge because of un-intentional polin drift. In the above instance a neighbor farmer had spilled GMO canola seed on his neighbors land and it looked to him like a good opportunity to put on over on Pioneer seed co. or who ever.

At any rate the paten on RoundUp ready soy has expired as has the paten on Roundup so this is a non issue or making a mountain out of yea ole mole hill.

 

[ChickenDavid]

I have a flock of six pullets, age 4-8 months. A buff Ameracauna, a splash Ameracauna, a black Ameracauna, an Olive Egger, a Silkie and a huge Cochin. I have been feeding them Purina crumbles but I know that many BYC members feed something like Scratch & Peck’s organic, non-GMO, corn-free feed. My question is, are there actually benefits to spending the extra money on this type of high end feed? I don’t need corn-free feed (and don’t really understand why chickens would need it) because I actually feed my chickens cracked corn as a treat. Do you buy one of the more expensive, high end feeds? If so, why? Or do you stick with something like a Purina feed? How come? Thanks for any and all feedback.

i use anything that has the right protein content but not certain brands the chickens don't like. You should be aware however that gmo products are a good way to introduce bacterial resistance to the intestinal bacteria of your chickens and indirectly to you. It really depends on the method of the gene manipulation, which is an unknown buying feed and not a label requirement.

 

[MsMarianne]

What you feed your chickens depends on what you want to put into your own body when you eat their eggs. I always feed organic, lay crumbles and scratch because I want my chickens and their eggs as healthy as possible. You are what you eat!

 

[RoosterML]

What you feed your chickens depends on what you want to put into your own body when you eat their eggs. I always feed organic, lay crumbles and scratch because I want my chickens and their eggs as healthy as possible. You are what you eat!

I am curious, do you yourself eat only organic foods? I know i surely don't yet I've seen to make it to 40 with no health problems. So if I can go 40 years with no organic gimmick only campaign. I would like to think my chickens can make it along just fine in 5-10 year life span. Oh yeah and keep in mind years ago McDonald's use to make the really good burgers and fries using whatever you called it as meat. Yep doctor tells me. "Your blood work is boring" anything you would like to discuss. I also really enjoyed Chinese food with all that yummy MSG. God the good old days. Now that is evidence not fiction.

 

[Folly's place]

Yup, testimonials go both ways. I don't eat only organic foods either, so neither do my chickens. It's a personal choice, not worth fighting over, IMO.
It's best to stick to facts, not hearsay, or fearmongering, and I'd rather spend my time worrying about other issues.
Anyone who smokes doesn't have a lot to worry about choosing organic vs. other, for example.
Stuff that was considered 'good' in my lifetime turned out to be not so good; DDT, tobacco products, creosote, asbestos, margarine, driving while drunk...
Who knows what will turn up in a few more years?
Mary

 

[rosemarythyme]

I am curious, do you yourself eat only organic foods? I know i surely don't yet I've seen to make it to 40 with no health problems. So if I can go 40 years with no organic gimmick only campaign. Now that is evidence not fiction.

So if I make it to 40 with health problems then it must be organic food is bad? Or maybe... I have back problems because of a bad work environment and heart problems because I'm genetically predispositioned to them. Just going by one account isn't evidence of anything one way or another.

I think you should do what feels right for you and your family. I feel better exercising regularly, growing my own veggies (not "certified organic" but I sure know what goes into them: water, sun and dirt), and eating organic when I can do so, and I try to get my husband to do some of the same. But what's right for me isn't necessarily how someone else wants to live.