feed store vs commercial vs organic feed

[bamasandman]

Newbie here so please bear with me. My small flock of 20 hens, barred rock and Rhode Island Reds are still on chick starter/grower from the feed store. They are at 10 weeks old now. My dilemma, I want these chickens and eggs to be better than what the major poultry producers have. You always hear that the industry is pumping chickens full of growth hormones, etc. I know that the living conditions of my flock are better than the poultry industry but I have been wondering if I am basically feeding same growth hormones. I do give alot of treats, greens out of the garden but was wondering if I need to search for an organic feed. Your thoughts.

 

[whippet128]

You dont have to search for organic feed. My friend and I mix an all grain feed with a verry good mineral pak. Everyone we sell to has reported an increase in egg production. The big companies use low quality products to keep price down. Go to your local feed mil and have them mix a mash for you. Pm me for some general guidelines. Organic in my opinion is a waste of money. That is just my opinion dont want to make anyone mad. If you look into organic it is now a government owned term. Organic tv dinners? come on lets get real here. A good read is the omnivores dilemma.

 

[spottedtail]

If you just buy 50 lb bags of feed (containing animal protein) from your local Feedstore, you'll do fine. There are no growth hormones in it.

Your hens and eggs will be better than what comes from the big producers. If you've ever been in an "egg factory", you'll see it's hard to do worse.
Going organic will just cost you big dollars with no big advantage over regular feed.

Good luck,
spot

 

[DukeDawg528]

I feed mine laying cumbles and a little corn and the eggs are just as dark orange as any farm eggs...

 

[NYREDS]

The use of hormones in poultry feed was banned by the FDA in 1959. Like many "they says" the facts don't support the popular belief.