Does anyone use soy/corn-free feed?

[CrazyTalk]

I have to agree with the opinion that soy and corn are not meant to be consumed by us humans and animals at the rate they are nowadays. Everything in moderation, right?

What evidence do you have of the claim that soy is harmful for poultry? Remember, chickens aren't people. They're not even mammals. Their dietary needs are nothing like ours.


Soy is the source of most of the protein and amino acids in most commercial poultry food - it is extremely difficult to build a complete chicken feed without it.

 

[Cheekygreek]

If you do any research on soy you will find that it has a huge impact on hormones especially when it comes to estrogen. It doesn't matter that chickens aren't mammals, they are still animals with hormones and we are eating their eggs. Soy affects the ovaries, it gets passed into their eggs, we eat the eggs. Commercial chicken feed has been around for far less time than chickens have. They have gone centuries without corn and soy and thrived so I highly doubt that these readily available commercial feeds are the only viable option. I have been researching this and will continue to do so. You have the freedom to feed your chickens what you wish, and so do I.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

When I look at the Guaranteed Analysis of various brands of feed (DuMor, Nutrena, Layena, Scratch & Peck), they all have fairly similar numbers. Lysine is .7%-1% and Methionine is .3%-.5%. Layena and Nutrena are the lowest, S&P is in the middle, and DuMOR is the highest. They all have similar amounts of protein. Scratch and Peck (the only soy-free and soy-and-corn-free feeds I'm familiar with) is the only one I can find an actual list of ingredients for, and they state they use fish meal, so not animal protein-free.

So while it may be more expensive (which what I assume you meant by the Williams-Sonoma crack), it doesn't appear by any reasonable measure to be nutritionally inferior.

 

[Cheekygreek]

Thanks for that nutrition info! And for bringing up the Williams-Sonoma crack . Just because someone is conscious of GMO's and the like doesn't mean they are a hipster/yuppy. I live in the true country surrounded by sheep and other livestock, orchards, and crop fields. I'm building my chicken house with pallets inside an old goat pen.

 

[CrazyTalk]

HighStreet - Scratch and Peck is one of the few good ones - it's much better than most. That being said - it's 3-5 times as expensive as comparably nutritive feeds - $30ish for 40lbs vs $11 for 50lbs)

Quote: Cheekygreek - this isn't true at all. In the 1910s, commercial layers laid 35-50 eggs a year. Commercial foods have played a large part in the development of the modern chicken. The chicken before commercial food was a lot closer to the wild junglefowl than it is to the modern chicken - this is a bit like arguing about "wild cows" - there's no real wild equivalent at this point.

As to your comments about Soy affecting hormones - seriously - chickens are not people. Mammals and birds have very different hormone systems, and very different metabolisms. The fact that large amounts of soy can have issues with people does not indicate, imply or suggest that it has the same issues on chickens.

There have been literally thousands of studies done on feeding soy to protein - it's not a problem in modern chickens. People need to stop worrying about the chicken's "natural diet" - there's no such thing - chickens aren't natural animals - they've been selectively bred for health and performance with high soy diets.

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/artic...r-chick-performance-and-metabolisable-energy/

 

[Alphamare13]

I just got 10 chicks about 12 days ago and am using an organic chick starter (Payback brand). But after reading the ingredients I've been wondering if it would be better to use a soy/corn-free feed. I realize this is personal preference, but I try to eat healthy and be conscious of my food. I want to do what is healthiest for the chickens and for my family. Has anyone tried Scratch and Peck feed?

I’m not here to argue with anyone, but I do try to eat healthy myself and also do likewise for all of my animals. So if you’re looking for a corn free and soy free chicken feed, try New Country Organics/corn free feed. I use it for my chickens and they not only love it but they all seem healthy and happy! Go to their website and research it for yourself though, you can see a visible difference in this food vs most others that claim to be organic. newcountryorganics.com (It looks and smells good enough to try yourself, lol)

Good luck!