Feeding Organic?

[wanttobefarmer]

I posted this because I wanted to know the reasons behind why people feed organic and why people do not. Whatever choice that you make is great for you, I am just wanting other peoples reasons. I choose organic because I don't want the chemicals, pesticides, and poisons that are not organic to be in my food. No other reason. I don't even care for the organic label as long as I know that they use organic practices in thier growing of the corn, grain ect. I was trying to get my feed costs down and mentioned that I feed organic chicken food to my hens and I got some very strong reactions against feeding organic and I am wanting to know the reasons why. Thanks. Not looking for any arguments just wanting to become more educated. thanks

 

[eggdd]

i feed an organic diet, which i mix myself out of certified organic grains, while they are chicks. then, it's free ranging for them on pasture that hasn't been treated. next year, i hope to have broody hens to do the raising/free ranging of the chicks.

i do it because i do not want any of the crazy stuff put into feed. have you read the ingredient list? also, study after study have shown that eggs from chickens who are free ranged (read: NOT fed the synthetic feed from the store) are healthier for you - - lower in cholesterol, higher in amino acids, etc. you can do a search here and read about a few of the studies.

also, it makes for happier chickens. i do not like the idea of keeping any animal penned up. i believe it to be mean; cruel even.

i like things as natural as i can get them.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I buy organic cracked corn and on occasion organic layer pellets (and organic chick starter for starting chicks, always).

I am avoiding GMOs and artificial vitamins. The rest of my feed mix is conventionally grown.

 

[kizanne]

I choose organic for a variety of reasons.

One. while you can not keep all environmental pesticides and herbicides from your food and body, I like to do my best to not pollute my body. I am a firm believer that what you eat effects your health. I agree that it doesn't have to have the organic label if I know the growing practices.

Two. I am firmly against GMO products the thought of someone spraying roundup on thousands of acres and the damage that does to beneficial insects like bees, creating a dead zone for often times thousands and thousands of acres. GMO corn is also responsible for mass butterfly death. Organic means no GMO

Three. While organic is a label it comes with environmental restrictions on lots of other herbicides and pesticides. I don't want to contribute to the use of many of the chemicals, it doesn't matter to me if you can wash them off my produce, I don't want to contribute to the destruction many of these product cause.

Four. The feed I use doesn't use soy which I am not against soy but your body doesn't need that much of it and raising soy is one of the main reasons for destroying rainforest.

Five. My feed doesn't use animal by-products, it uses fish. I think chickens need regularly eat animals like insects but do not want all the things that could be categorized as by-product.


That being said. If I couldn't afford organic feed I'd still have chicken cause I don't want to eat eggs from chickens kept the way they keep commercial chickens. My next quest is to get the guts to raise meaties.

But by using organic feed, cage free, and allowing 2 hours of free range - I sell my extra eggs for $3/dozen which is cheaper than local organic, cage free, range eggs at the local store which means I have more customers than extra eggs even though they all know I'm not certified organic. And I have my customer tell me that my eggs taste way better than organic store eggs.

Which pays for my feed so my eggs are free

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

YEAH I read that and seriously, what is organic anyway?
Is it certain pesticides, or, certain pesticides only at a specific stage of growth, or what...
I kind of don't believe the label organic means much more than more expensive, and the marketing! Look at the tyoes of logos designed to appeal to a certain ideal of sunshine and green pastures...I just don't believe it.
I buy my feed from a local family owned feed store who has a personal interest in selling me a quality feed at a competitive price. the grain is well developed, with good color, little chaff, and not moldy or dusty. It is made in america too. It comes in a bag with one color ink stamped in plain english.
I don't think the farmers who grow this stuff dump any more chemicals on their fields than they have to...I think they are trying to grow a top quality grain as cheaply as possible, and I don't think they are getting rich off it either. I can tell my chickens love it, My chickens look pretty healthy too, no extra beaks or anything!
My chickens free range all day long, on land that hasn't even seen electricity till I moved here, so in that sense, they are organic. What does organic mean anyway? Does it mean, no vaccines, no extra vitamins or hormones? ok, got that. what else makes it organic? (I thought it used to mean carbon based life forms but the meaning may have changed)
I just think it's more hype than an actual standard, and too frequently, it just means one small thing is different, not the whole method.
If you told people out here you only have organic eggs, they would probably laugh at you, then feel bad cause they thought you were joking at first.
The other thing is, if I commit to only "organic" products, I'd starve to death, and so would the rest of the world, it is a pity, but it is what it is.

 

[MadChickensVT]

Achickenwrangler#1 :

The other thing is, if I commit to only "organic" products, I'd starve to death, and so would the rest of the world, it is a pity, but it is what it is.

Our great-grandparents didn't starve to death. To them organic was known as "food".

We buy organic because we don't like contributing to farmers spraying chemicals on the soil, which runs into our rivers and lakes and oceans. We also don't want to support the purchase of those chemicals, and therefore support the companies that make them. Your wallet is more powerful than your vote.

We buy organic because it means the farmer has to take the time to develop healthy soil, and healthy soil means crops with more nutrition. Feeding those feeds to our chickens means they get better nutrition, which means we get better nutrition from their eggs and their meat.

Buying organic might be a little more expensive but you are literally what you eat. It's money well spent.​

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Achickenwrangler#1 :

What does organic mean anyway? Does it mean, no vaccines, no extra vitamins or hormones? ok, got that. what else makes it organic? (I thought it used to mean carbon based life forms but the meaning may have changed)

The term organic refers to a farm itself working as an actual organism; the crops feeding the livestock, the livestock fertilizing the crops, everything working in symbiosis, as nature intended.

It involves natural practices that do not make use of GMOs and synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides on crops. It is not the absence of of fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides as there are many natural alternatives that may be used.

For livestock, it means feeding those organically produced crops. Vaccines and vitamins are permissible. Vaccines are natural biologicals, vitamins can be natural. Synthetic or highly processed sources of vitamins are not allowed. Synthetic medicines and antibiotics are not allowed. Homeopathic remedies are allowed, as long they come from natural sources.

Humane standards are a little higher, e.g., animals must have access to the outdoors, age and weather permitting. Hens are not allowed to be kept in cages. Animals must be allowed to express their natural behaviors.​

 

[Mac in Wisco]

I should say that description is how the USDA defines it now. Long before government regulation, it basically meant all natural practices with everything working in symbiosis with nature.

 

[Illia]

I don't feed organic because it is too expensive for me, and also because there is NO gaurantee that it is non-GMO. Also, wheat/corn/soy is wheat, corn, and soy. I'd rather feed my chickens a more "natural" diet than just the same thing but with less chemical residue.


I do try my best to replace as much bought feed as I can with homegrown things though.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

I get my feed from my nieghbour who makes his own feed and sells it by the barrel. The kind of feed I get is made from grain grown in our area, heck, some of it probably comes from the grain we grow on our own farm! Its not organic, but its not a commercial feed either.