Feeds that aren't mostly corn and soy?

[Angela902]

Hi,

I've been buying Blue Seal organic feeds, but it bugs me that these are mostly just corn and soy. It seems that all we eat anymore is these two things, one way or the other, and I think it would be nice if my chickens could thrive on something else. Does anyone have a good recipe for mixing their own feed? Thanks, Angela

 

[bibliophile birds]

Countryside Naturals organic feed is soy free and the first ingredient is peas.

i've got a lot of links on my BYC page that have been helpful for me. i'm hoping to switch to mixing my own whole grain feed in the spring.

 

[elmo]

Countryside Naturals is what I use, too. There is another feed mill in Illinois (I think) that makes a soy free chicken feed, but they don't have online ordering yet.

 

[kikster]

Another countryside buyer here. We buy our chick & layer feed, and even our SUPER large bag of DE from them (which they offered the cheapest price we could find for food grade- I think it's like 50lbs or something - lasting forever). I'm not sure where you are, but we specifically purchased their feed because of it being soy-free.

 

[elmo]

By the way, if you can organize some friends in your area to make a bulk purchase of Countryside Naturals (10 bags minimum) you can get a break on the shipping. Depending on your area, it could be a substantial break. Just contact the folks at Countryside for details.

I'm trying to organize a group buy in my area (Dallas) right now.

 

[cassie]

What's wrong with corn and soy? Soybean meal is very high protein and corn has the most energy of any grain. Maybe the reason so much corn and soy is used is because they are both very good feeds and easy and economical to produce.

 

[bibliophile birds]

Quote:
one of the major problems with soy and corn in organic feeds is that both are easily contaminated by nonorganic GMO crops that may be near the organic farm. you don't want to spend money on organic and have it be inadvertently contaminated.

more specifically, GMO soy- the kind you find in almost everything these days- has been linked to a lot of health problems in people. i can't eat it because i have hypothyroidism which it makes worse. a little bit of soy now and then is fine. i really love edamame. but soy really is in almost everything, and that's not a good thing.

feeding high levels of corn leads to high fat levels. this is great right before slaughter, but as a basis of long-term feed it's not a great thing. corn is the main ingredient in most feeds because of farm subsidies (as you said, it's economical to produce), not because it is the best option.

 

[Wifezilla]

Watch the DVD Food, Inc. and then ask that again

I want THIS...
http://www.spicerbirdfarm.com/spicerfeed.html
but can't get it in my area.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
Yes, we just rented that last night. I had to turn away in parts; just couldn't watch how some of the animals were being treated.

The thing is, we know that a healthy diet is a varied one, right? So how come so much of the calories in our diets come from so few sources? Corn and soy is in everything.

 

[Chris09]

elmo: The thing is, we know that a healthy diet is a varied one, right? So how come so much of the calories in our diets come from so few sources? Corn and soy is in everything.

Because corn and soy is cheap...

Chris​