Is it worth the extra $$

[Ascholten]

I hate asking questions that probably been asked 100 times already, this is probably one of them, but I didn't find anything in my quick albeit noob search so here goes.

Layer Feed. Yes you can get the organic stuff for 40 dollars a bag, The regular Purina for about 16 a bag or the more Generic, like Dumor, for around 8 to 9 a bag. They all claim to be healthy, nutritious etc etc. They all claim to have the 16 percent protein, or whatever the number is etc etc etc.

I know, generally, as a rule of life, you get what you pay for, but WHY is one so horribly expensive, and the other appearing so dirt cheap, when up front they both appear they will be keeping the flock happy, healthy, and alive?

Yes, you are paying for a name here... Paying for 'organic' there, that part I get, but the rest of it.. what makes brand A so much better than Brand B? especially 10 dollars better?

Is there inherently something wrong with the cheap stuff that it will eventually do bad to the birds? Am I supposed to feel guilty even thinking of feeding my children the generic stuff? WHAT am I missing, that is making the 8 dollar stuff, the 8 dollar stuff? What do I need to watch out for when reading ingredients?

Thank you
Aaron

 

[U_Stormcrow]

In the US, "Organic" pricing is a factor of three components.

1) Cache. Marketing. Profit. You are, in part, paying for the ability to proclaim your use of Organic feed, like you pay to wear the Louis Vuitton (sp?) logo on your handbag. Its conspicuous consumption like a handmade silk tie - a piece of expensive frivolity which serves no purpose other than to advertise that you can afford to do so.

2) Scale. Organic feeds, due to their higher expense, are less in demand. While economies of scale grow ever smaller with volume, it remains considerably more economical to buy, store, mill, package, label, distribute, stock, and sell non-Organic feed than Organic feed - where every error, loss, or expiration of the product has to be spread across fewer actual product sales. Moreover, there is less competition on pricing for the raw ingredients, so input costs are higher, too.

3) Remember how I mentioned input costs??? Regulatory Capture by major market players has ensured that any producer much smaller than Purina/General Mills, Cargill, Tyson Foods, ConAgra etc can not afford the regulatory and reporting requirements needed to document that the entire chain of production, land, seed, growing, transport, milling, etc meets Organic standards. Jack and Jill Farmer, on 10,000 acres of property in Grainfield, NE can grow crops using the descendants of the seed corn their great great granpappy brought out west in the 1800s, grow it in native dirt with nothing but rainwater, harvest it, take it to their own millstone on property, grind it, bag it, and they still can't sell it as "Organic". Nor can they sell the grain to Purina as "Organic". That it is literally true does not make it LEGALLY true. Quite deliberately, as a bar to competition.

If that's how you choose to spend your money, promoting some big business in the name of saving the planet, its not for me to say otherwise. It is, after all, your money - not mine. Much as I would enjoy shooting fish in the proverbial barrel as a political discussion, BYC is not the place for it.

However, I will *briefly* address that spooky word, "poison". At least, to the extent that one can address the hint of a shadow, without more substance. Every trace metal naturally occurring in seeds and grains is a poison, IN SUFFICIENT QUANTITY. The Phrase "the dosage is the poison" expresses a medical truth.

Too little of Potassium or Sodium in your body and you will die. Its absolutely necessary to the regulation of our cardiovascular system. Too much? You die. They are "poisons". Sucrose - simple sugar - the basic carbohydrate used by the body for energy production. Too much? You die. Along the spectrum, there are horrible conditions associated with an excess of sugar in the bloodstream. Search Glucotoxicity and Glucose Toxicity - hint: you know them by other names.

Soy products contain isoflavones, estrogen-like chemicals which bind to the body's estrogen receptors (weakly) and can cause an imbalance in our endocrine systems with a host of related maladies. But those organic, all natural, compounds aren't "poison", except in their dosage. Unless you live in CA, where prop 65 would put a warning label on the Human Body for such hazardous, all natural, chemical compounds as Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Testosterone, Estrogen, and Progesterone, among others.

Have a great morning - I'm going to go sip another cup of hot poison: dihydrogen monoxide, sucrose, caffeine, acrymalides, and a bunch of things whose chemical names I don't know off the top of my head. Someone slap a prop 65 warning on my coffee.

/edit apologies for tone. I'm not fit for human company before my second cup.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Growing organic DOES usually take more labor, plus the certification process isn’t cheap or easy.

I’d guess a lot of the price difference is just those costs being passed on to the consumer.

When assessing the environmental impact of your feed, organic vs non is one big element. Another is where it’s sourced from...if the organic feed is from much further away, it could be a wash or actually worse for the environment (the organic will still have the plus of no chemicals of course).

The greenest way to feed chickens is to turn things you already have (kitchen scraps, garden extras, weeds, forage) nearby, or things that would otherwise end up in a landfill (food waste, etc).

 

[Callender Girl]

Aaron, you are asking a question I have asked myself plenty of times. I WISH I could afford organic feed -- not just for my chickens but for all of my pets and for me. My suspicion, and it's only that, is that at least some of price difference is a matter of marketing.

I used to turn up my nose at off-brand people food and drove past Aldi without a second thought. As it turns out, I am now a devoted Aldi shopper because their store brands appear to have the same or better nutritional value as the "good" brands, taste just as good or better and cost a lot less to buy. I like to stretch my dollars as far as possible while still getting good value.

My birds have been eating either get Purina, if it's on sale, or the local feed store's house brand for several years, and I haven't seen any ill effects. I am far from an expert and am looking forward to reading others' opinions.

 

[Trisseh]

Personally I prefer to support my local feed mill. The feed is less costly because transport costs are less of an issue - the feed is made from crops grown by farmers here, it’s milled here, and I’ve never had a bag that was more than a month old. The birds love it, and it doesn’t break the bank. I tend to stay away from most “value added” products that play on consumer trends. Organic, high omegas, etc are all a marketing ploy to meet the desire of the consumers. I have no issue with anyone who chooses to use said products but I personally see no benefit to them, and unless it can be demonstrated without a doubt that there is marked benefit to feeding it over my locally sourced, fresh feed, I won’t buy it - but I also won’t strongly urge others to choose to do the same as I do.
I certainly wouldn’t be able to go through certification for organic eggs from my birds even if I did feed organic feed, as they free range and eat anything they can get their beaks on. Never had better tasting eggs though.
Personally I think so long as we meet the nutritional needs of our birds, there’s nothing wrong with our choices whatever they may be.

 

[GC-Raptor]

I like brand name feed ( Nutrena and Purina) conventional. I don't buy Organic.
I shop at TSC and buy whichever is cheaper, on sale, or available when I'm there.
From what I've read DuMOR is manufactured by Purina, tag on bottom of bag is the same design.
Ingredients used are TSC specific, and nutritionally complete.
The important thing is freshness, a generic feed that's fresh is better than an Organic feed that's 5 months old. GC

 

[deidreg]

Marketing. (I say this as a recovered corporate marketing director.) I would make sure the "cheap" feed doesn't have fillers. And if not, stretch that dollar!

Personally, I think organic and non GMO products are overhyped. (I know others will disagree.)

 

[BDutch]

Marketing. (I say this as a recovered corporate marketing director.) I would make sure the "cheap" feed doesn't have fillers. And if not, stretch that dollar!

Personally, I think organic and non GMO products are overhyped. (I know others will disagree.)

I disagree of course. Bc cheap and short time thinking is destroying our health and our planet. I do believe organic will get cheaper if more people buy it and there is more competition in this market.

I’m truly sorry that most people care less about a healthy planet then about a healthy bank account.

 

[Wild-Turkey]

In my experience, in general the cheaper the feed, the more by-products. Once I bought some feed that made all of our ducks eggs taste and smell fishy. The feed had no meat products listed or unusual nutrition. The coop also smelled weird for a while.
I personally like to know what my birds are eating, especially when I also plan to eat them and their eggs.
From what I know, by-products can be anything made with what’s listed with the word, for example, grain by-products can be anything made with grain. Usually whatever is cheapest at the time.
We feed ours what we can afford with the least by-products. We can’t afford non-GMO unfortunately, because that would be my first choice if we had the money because of the effects normal feed production has on the environment.
I will not pay for Organic feed, my top priority is planetary health and poultry health, but Organic doesn’t mean better.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

That explains the guy I keep seeing in the meat aisle of the grocery store with a portable X-ray machine!