I want to feed them Organic & Non GMO -- but the price is just too high!

[Bethel3330]

You can tryhttp://hilandnaturals.com/locations.html @10xmama they have some dealers in Florida. My chickens love this brand! They offer non-gmo, organic and soy-free I believe.

 

[Cindy in PA]

@Cindy in PA
Hi Cindy in PA

I'm also in PA (Hbg area) In 1 week I will be switching my girls from starter feed to grower feed. I have been feeding the medicated starter (manna) but knew I wanted to switch to non-GMO organic grower then organic layer feed. But like everyone else, it's somewhat difficult to find locally and paying the shipping from on line orders is just crazy!
Perhaps I'm somewhere close to you and able to utilize your sources?

I am in SE PA near Reading, so you are pretty far away. Nature's Best Feed is out of Kreamer, PA and should be available somewhere near you, as they cover pretty much area. They have an organic grower feed. I like their feed, but around here it is the most expensive of all my options. You are closer to the feed mill, which is north of you, so maybe it is cheaper there. I think the distributors here make the price higher.

 

[classyq]

So is the feed mill Natures Best?
And I'll actually be working in Reading next week, so I will be in the area.

 

[Cindy in PA]

So is the feed mill Natures Best?
And I'll actually be working in Reading next week, so I will be in the area.

It might be under Kreamer Feed and not Nature's Best, I am not sure. They just upgraded their organic mill last year. There are two organic mills one in Lancaster (McGeary) & one in Atglen Chester County (Organic Unlimited) that might be closer to you. Organic Unlimited makes pellets soy & no soy in layer, but don't know what their grower is. If you are near Reading their is an Amish/Mennonite? farmer in Oley that makes his own transitional organic, but his is all mash. Last time I bought from him it was $35/80 for grower. He also has certified organic, but you have to purchase either a ton or 1/2 a ton. His name is Vernon Burkholder 610-987-3898. Hope this helps.

 

[classyq]

Thanks so much! I appreciate it

 

[10xmama]

I'm in Jacksonville, FL. Doesn't look like the Hidden Natural dealers are anywhere close. There is a farm about 45min away that sells an organic nonGMO feed but it is $37 a 50lb bag and then the gas/time to get there and back. It just makes it totally unreasonable, imo. The idea of organic and nonGMO is a good one …. but it can't be cost/time prohibitive if I am going to make it work long term.

 

[speckledhen]

This is not organic, but it is non-gmo and non-soy and it's extremely well-priced, from Tucker Milling out of Alabama. It's only about $13/ 50#, believe it or not.

 

[CrazyTalk]

Just a caution here - but I've seen a ton of reports of people having issues with birds stopping/decreasing laying after being switched off of corn and soy based feeds - a lot of the 'alternative' feeds don't have nearly the amount of research put into them as conventional foods, and are nutritionally incomplete.


This isn't a comment about the stuff Speckled Hen has posted - I don't know anything about that specific feed.

 

[speckledhen]

Just a caution here - but I've seen a ton of reports of people having issues with birds stopping/decreasing laying after being switched off of corn and soy based feeds - a lot of the 'alternative' feeds don't have nearly the amount of research put into them as conventional foods, and are nutritionally incomplete.


This isn't a comment about the stuff Speckled Hen has posted - I don't know anything about that specific feed.

I don't, either, since I haven't used it yet. I was just offering a reasonable alternative. Soy based feeds have been linked to many issues in the past. Corn I have no issue with, but soy has been a questionable ingredient for many folks for years. The fact that soy is not a natural food for chickens for many reasons makes me wonder about it being a contributing factor in reproductive issues. But that is for another thread.

 

[pdirt]

I'm in Jacksonville, FL. Doesn't look like the Hidden Natural dealers are anywhere close. There is a farm about 45min away that sells an organic nonGMO feed but it is $37 a 50lb bag and then the gas/time to get there and back. It just makes it totally unreasonable, imo. The idea of organic and nonGMO is a good one …. but it can't be cost/time prohibitive if I am going to make it work long term.

We switched from all organic feed as feeding 55 birds was becoming expensive. We found a feed that is non-GMO and claimed (not on the label) to be grown "basically organically", but without the organic certification. It comes down to trusting the the chain of "word", that the mill is telling the truth as are the farmers. I trust my feed store supplier, she wouldn't sell something as a false-hood. Anyways, it is way cheaper than the certified organic stuff. It may take some more sleuthing around to find what you're looking for. We just got lucky...our feed store understands it's customers and she found this stuff.

There seems to be a growing trend with the "un-certified organic" sort of thing. They can't call it "organic" anywhere in writing or would be sued for mis-labeling the product. But there is a need and desire for high quality food at a lower price. Forgoing the expense of organic certification is helping some farmers pass along that savings. Some day I hope that EVERYTHING is grown organically and while food prices will be higher than they are today, organic won't be the extreme expensive thing it is now. It's how food used to be grown, anyways.