GMO free feeds?

[gracejr]

I'm not looking into a GMOs are good/evil debate. Are there any readily available sources of chicken feed that are free of GMOs? Soy free would be a plus, as well. I'd be looking for layer feed, if that makes a difference. Where should I start looking? I'm going on the assumption that Purina, Blue Seal, Dumor, etc all contain GMOs, correct?

 

[devora]

Buy organic. Shouldn't that cover it? No soy, don't know.

What's available at your local feed store?

 

[griffinkid02]

Yeah, any of the big name brands are going to have soy and commercial corn, both of which you can just about grantee are GMO. Now, some of those brands may offer a non GMO mixes, at a premium price, but it's up to whether or not you trust their quality practiced regarding cross contamination. I don't think they would deliberately mislabel a bag, but some mixing is sure to occur occasionally by accident.

 

[gracejr]

My big issue with soy is that it is just about impossible to find non-GMO soy. I am also familiar with the health concerns involving soy in human diets, though I am not sure if this is also an issue with poultry.

I don't recall seeing any organic feeds in stores recently. Most of what I see are Purina or Dumor chick/flockraiser/layer formulas. We do have Blue Seal, but I'm not sure what they offer for varieties.

I don't have anywhere to store mass qty of feed, so I'm not sure buying direct from somewhere would work. The most I would be buying at a time would be 200-250lbs, assuming it is bagged up. I don't have anywhere to store a large amount of loose grain.

 

[Nambroth]

I had the same feed requirements as you (no GMO, prefer soy-free), and here on the East Coast I found my only option was to mail order Countryside Organics feed. It's expensive but my anecdotal observation is that my chickens eat far less and to gain the same (or better) nutrition. As with all things, your mileage may vary.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Blue Seal has an organic feed that would be GMO free, but still contains soy. There is a non soy organic feed in PA Organic Unlimited in Atglen Chester County. You would have to check their website to see if they have any distributors up your way. Another option is to look for a small producer of local feed. I go to an Amish farmer. He is a distributor of Fertrell Minerals & stuff & makes his own feed. He started making soy-free about 2 years ago, because of some requests from egg farmers in Lancaster County. You just have to keep searching. This guy is no3 miles from me & I new nothing about him. Good luck.

 

[Malissa]

Cindy! I'm in the Fleetwood area as well and currently have my 5 mo olds on purina from Oley Valley Feed. Would love to get info on the guy you buy from ....I'm concerned about GMO's/soy as well and figured it would be good to get them off of that if I can! I live near New Jerusalem.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Cindy! I'm in the Fleetwood area as well and currently have my 5 mo olds on purina from Oley Valley Feed. Would love to get info on the guy you buy from ....I'm concerned about GMO's/soy as well and figured it would be good to get them off of that if I can! I live near New Jerusalem.

Hi Malissa,
I go to Panorama Natural Feeds on Mud Run Road in Oley. It is right up the road from Oley Valley Feed. His food is transitional organic and also is mash. Mash is not the most convenient type of feed, but the girls love it. If you make them clean up the powdered part before you give them more, they eat it really well. Another thing is his bags are 80 lbs. 80lbs lasted my 14 chickens 6 weeks this time. Have to make a run in the next few days. Last time layer was $30/80lbs. Hope this helps.

 

[Malissa]

Oh thanks so much for the info!!! I've been getting a 50lb bag of layena for about $17. So it's a little more, but not much. Whatever organic feed Oley Valley carries is twice the price of the Layena. I guess I feel that since we are doing this on our own, we might as well do it right. It's still cheaper than buying organic eggs in the store and I know my chick chicks are happy and healthy! You hear so many bad things about GMO's these days, I'd really prefer to avoid them when I can. We just started getting our first eggs over the weekend! So exciting!

 

[Cindy in PA]

Oh thanks so much for the info!!! I've been getting a 50lb bag of layena for about $17. So it's a little more, but not much. Whatever organic feed Oley Valley carries is twice the price of the Layena. I guess I feel that since we are doing this on our own, we might as well do it right. It's still cheaper than buying organic eggs in the store and I know my chick chicks are happy and healthy! You hear so many bad things about GMO's these days, I'd really prefer to avoid them when I can. We just started getting our first eggs over the weekend! So exciting!

Wow, so Layena is up to $17/50 now. Oley Feed sells Nature's Best Organic & I love the feed, just hate that it does not have animal protein. I tried to get them to become a distributor for Organic Unlimited in Atglen, Chester County, but they didn't bite. Organic unlimited makes organic & no soy organic. Just thought it would be even more local than Nature's Best and their prices were good. I love Oley Feed, but I don't love that Purina is all they sell. I used to use Purina Game Bird for the animal protein, but last time I bought it, there was no animal protein in it.