Glyphosate in Chicken Feed- Should I be concerned or not?

[Jimmy W]

I looked it up on google. Apparently some farmers spray glysophate on wheat to dry it out and thus be able to reap it two weeks earlier. I am only seeing it used on wheat. Farmers in my area do not use it to dry out wheat, which is usually harvested in August, a normally dry month.

As U_stormcrow wrote, you don't know where the wheat in any bag of feed is being grown or if they use glysophate on it.

If it concerns you, you can buy your grain from your local feed elevator and make your own, if you can be sure the methods used to grow and harvest the grain are acceptable to you.

Thanks Penpal, Yep, exactly what I found. Here in PA, non organic farmers use that stuff like water thru the growing season.

 

[Jimmy W]

IMHO the "question" is what your personal tolerance level is to a given feed/food contaminant, for yourself and/or your chooks.

It is quite possible that, somewhere, individual small farms following true organic practices might be a source for the grains and other ingredients by which you can create your own chicken feed, especially if they're following this program for their own flocks.

Requires being able to communicate with the actual farmer, obtain the feedstuffs in the volume you'll need, mix/prepare the necessary ingredients and hope your chickens not only like but do well on the feed. Likely to be expensive and time-consuming but if you are diligent and successful with the process you'll have the satisfaction of making the best attempt at providing a clean feed for your chickens. Again, just MHO.

Agree, thanks texsuze

 

[Jimmy W]

The air you breathe is contaminated. The water you drink is contaminated. As scary as that is I'm not planning to stop breathing air or drinking water.

To me the key is dosage. How much does it actually take to hurt you? As long as I am below those levels I'm not that concerned about it. I personally like a factor of safety, I do not want to be right on the cusp of dangerous. If the air quality is so bad due to a dust storm or fire I try to stay indoors so the AC or heat system can filter those bad particles out of the air.

Am I happy to find Glyphosate or any other contaminate in my air, water, or food? Of course not. But as long as those levels are below the levels someone that has used science as a basis instead of opinion to come up with those levels I'm OK with it.

Hi Ridgerunner, thanks for the response and I appreciate it. In the grand scheme of things, it all compounds is how I look at it and I try to reduce the contaminants I put in my body, and I intend to eat a whole lot of eggs :>) I get, at least it will be self inflicted contamination, lol. I will try to find some reasonably priced local feed if I can afford it.

 

[Jimmy W]

Agree x100%!!!
I've got other things to worry about, and actually our food supply is pretty safe, including the feed we buy for our birds. Safer than in many places, and much safer than, say, a century ago or further back than that. Looking for perfection isn't all that useful.
Mary

Thanks Folly

 

[Jimmy W]

and the posters here on BYC dismantled that particular study shortly after it was published. I was one of them.

The thread on the test results from another Youtube personality.

and one of our users sent several feed samples off for testing which were provided to her by other users here on BYC

You might find this link useful as well (links to other links)

No, I'm not a poultry nutritionist. I'm just a reasonably well read hobbyist. Sadly, its clear that those advancing the vast majority of these positions (whatever their other qualifications) know far less about the subject than could easily be learned in a weekend of reading and a couple Google searches of the underlying studies. I would not be so eager to put my ignorance on public display, personally, and don't pretend to be an expert. Merely strongly opinionated.

Thats alot of stuff, so is there Glyphosate in feed or not?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Possibly. Even probably at times if you have locally sourced grains used when the locals are spraying. That said, Glypho isn't cheap. Farmers who can avoid paying extra for glypho resistant plants and the glypho itself and the labor/equipment to apply it will do so.

 

[Folly's place]

IMO a more important issue for our backyard flocks concerns lead. Older buildings will often have lead paint, which flakes off into the soil nearby. Chickens root around in that soil and eat the paint chips, soil, and plant growing in it.
We are blessed with buildings that weren't painted, and had some of our eggs tested for lead this spring, and all were fine. That may not be true elsewhere!
Eggs can be tested, check where you live about that. Here the MSU veterinary path lab has it done.
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

And in those 'good old days', neither lead not asbestos were considered all that dangerous in and around homes. Our veggie garden was right next to our house, painted with decades of paint containing lead. And so many ceramic dishes, until not so long ago, have lead in the glaze and paint.
Next year, some other 'safe' product will turn out to not be so good. Plastics, for example.
Mary

 

[Jimmy W]

And in those 'good old days', neither lead not asbestos were considered all that dangerous in and around homes. Our veggie garden was right next to our house, painted with decades of paint containing lead. And so many ceramic dishes, until not so long ago, have lead in the glaze and paint.
Next year, some other 'safe' product will turn out to not be so good. Plastics, for example.
Mary

Amen Folly I am with you and going thru it now with the PFOS/PFAS.

 

[Jimmy W]

Possibly. Even probably at times if you have locally sourced grains used when the locals are spraying. That said, Glypho isn't cheap. Farmers who can avoid paying extra for glypho resistant plants and the glypho itself and the labor/equipment to apply it will do so.

I appreciate you, thanks for your insight. Thats the best answer I heard in a long time.

I am going to make the best I can with what I can obtain, just like everything else in the world we live in.

Wishing you the Best.