Feeds with Soy as the protein base..

[ZaneyMama]

I'm in Colorado and I get our soy-free organic feed from a local woman who buys it in bulk - a co op of sorts. We get grower for 50 cents a lb and layer for 30 cents a lb! I found her on Craigslist.

Do a search for soy-free on this forum and there is a list of distributors. It seems like a lot of them are in California, so it shouldn't be as expensive to ship.

I just did a quick Craigslist search - this person has eggs, maybe they have feed? http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/grd/1790340043.html

 

[chickboss]

Thanks everyone for all the searching tips, I'll see what I turn up!

 

[HHandbasket]

It's interesting that I'm finding this thread about feeding soy-free feed to chickens. Thank you for posting the question and to everyone for responding because it never occurred to me not to give it to them. Tofu is one of my birds' absolute favorite treats. I don't remember the brand of feed I bought, but I bought it at a farm supply/feed store. I'll have to check the bag to see what's in it.

Anyway, my pullets get a treat of fresh tofu at least once every other day--should I stop giving it to them? They get plenty of bugs, worms, garden scraps, fresh spinach leaves (we had a proliferation of spinach this year, and now I have found a useful purpose for the last dregs of the spinach harvest cuz my girls tear it up with a quickness), and other stuff. I found a fat beetle the other day in the compost heap & put it in the henhouse & they made short work of that poor little guy, too. They're young pullets & have a feeder filled with flock raiser available to them for free feeding.

Is the soy bad for them? Is it ok if they have it for a treat & not as a primary source of protein?

Thanks in advance!

 

[AnnainMD]

Quote:
I am no expert in this by any means but I believe the concern about soy for the chickens (and people for that matter) is that the soybeans are consumed in large amounts in the unfermented form. From what I've read, in Asian countries the soy is consumed predominately in fermented form (such as your tofu) and it only makes up a small portion of their diet. Whereas in the States, soybean meal is everywhere and in everything (as is corn in some form or another). The issue with unfermented soy is that it may behave similar to estrogen in the body (binds to the estrogen receptors if I remember correctly).
Do some "Googling" and decide for yourself.

 

[chickboss]

That's my understanding as well with the very limited reasearch I've been able to do so far. I don't really know that I would mind some soy, but I don't think it is a complete protien and since it is the only protien in the feed in question, I think that is where I have run into problems. I have too many chickens for them all to get enough meat protien from our kitchen scraps, they all just get a little tibbit when we are handing out treats, so I think they have suffered. I actually found a fish food for omnivourous fish such as trout that is loaded with all kinds of meat protiens and other stuff that is okay for chickens, it's really like a higher protien cat/dog food, so I am supplementing with that while I finish off this current batch of feed. I don't think I would worry too much about tofu now and then personally.

 

[detali]

Sorry to disappoint you but tofu is not a fermented soy food. I can make tofu from fresh soybeans in a day.
Miso and natto are the Asian forms of eating soy foods. They are fermented.
From reading Dr Mercola's website, unfermented soy products contain an anti-nutrient that the body has to fight to overcome. I don't use soy products myself anymore. I will have to check to see if it is in my chicken feed. In which case I will have to switch away from that.
Thanks for bringing up this thread.

 

[chickboss]

Quote:
That's right! I don't know why I didn't catch that because I have seen tofu made! LOL.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

There is a fermented tofu, but that isn't what's popular in the US. Fermented soy products are an acquired taste and not everybody acquires it.

 

[colowyo0809]

Quote:
I am no expert in this by any means but I believe the concern about soy for the chickens (and people for that matter) is that the soybeans are consumed in large amounts in the unfermented form. From what I've read, in Asian countries the soy is consumed predominately in fermented form (such as your tofu) and it only makes up a small portion of their diet. Whereas in the States, soybean meal is everywhere and in everything (as is corn in some form or another). The issue with unfermented soy is that it may behave similar to estrogen in the body (binds to the estrogen receptors if I remember correctly).
Do some "Googling" and decide for yourself.

It's not may, its a proven is. My partner stopped consuming large quantities of soy because not only does it essentially mimic the estrogen already found in the body, but in certain men (the ones that already have higher levels of estrogen than normal) it increases the estrogen levels and essentially the body starts mimicing the female body. And, in someone like my SO, having his chest area start to become more defined in the wrong ways, and increasing the mood swings, is not a pleasant enough side effect to balance whatever good might come from consuming soy. We took him off of the soymilk immediately