Is it worth the extra $$

[MNnative]

I feed my family and my chickens organic. This is mainly because we are a family of 3, with 2 incomes, and 2 (soon to be 4) chickens. If we were a bigger family, with less disposable income and more chickens, the cost would rapidly get out of hand. Everyone does the best they can, I assume; no one purposely malnourishes themselves or their pets (or livestock).

I choose organic because I see what's allowed and what's banned in the rest of the world, and that shows me very clearly where US interests lie. When I'm in Europe, I feel a lot better eating non-organic food!

I agree with a lot of what's been posted already. The decision is not an easy one, and balance is difficult to keep.

My chickens eat Scratch & Peck grower, with oyster shell on the side. They love the whole grains much more than the Purina crumbles they ate as chicks. Those, however, did help them grow into healthy chickens! I add vitamins to their water to cover any nutritional deficiencies (I'm pretty sure the powder is vitamin supplement, and they only eat that when I moisten their breakfast). They enjoy any bugs they can find in the yard, as well as small daily treats.

I think you said it perfectly. My choice to buy organic, or sustainably farmed, or even better locally that is either Organic, sustainably farmed, or best of all grown by myself or people I know using natural methods like compost and least amount of additives necessary is based largely on how farming, foods and medications, etc...are regulated in the U.S. I feel like the fact that our government continues to support the use of synthetic chemicals which are no longer used (or never were) in most of the rest of the Industrialized World makes me hesitant to trust their judgement on what chemicals, additives, etc...are safe. Also the ties between corporate America and government regulation.

Also my husband notes when he travels to Europe he can eat almost anything without having digestive issues, eating the same things here often cause all sorts of digestive complications. Mostly he is referring to "rich" or heavier foods that he is served or recommended to choose when eating out while traveling for work. He has noticed when we don't eat out, and even better when we purchase mostly organic, from co-op and/or use home grown or from farmer's market his symptoms are also better.

Organic is not the end all or be all but it is one of the limited options we have to ensure we have some increased level of knowledge about what is being used on or put into the food we are eating.

We just watched Dark Water this past weekend. That has certainly impacted my current level of skepticism.

 

[MNnative]

Actually they used a lot of nasty chemicals in the 30s 40s and 50s. which are now banned. Specifically DDT which created around 1940 and was banned in 1972.

Like the wide spread use of other chemicals in the U.S. and their acceptance in society DDT only began to be widely used after the U.S. government began to use it in broader applications during WW2. Similar trends have occurred with other chemicals - Dark Water which I watched this past weekend mentions this trend in regards to use of synthetic compounds in other industries.

 

[MNnative]

Actually they used a lot of nasty chemicals in the 30s 40s and 50s. which are now banned. Specifically DDT which created around 1940 and was banned in 1972.

Funny note: when living in Iowa in the late 1990's I worked with an ICU doctor whose parents or grandparents still used the DDT they had never disposed of on their farm/yard. I was pretty shocked by that. Based on the way in which she mentioned it. She obviously thought there was no harm in it. Maybe when it is not used in such a wide scale (as it had been previously) there might be some degree of truth in that belief but I personally wouldn't want it used around me.

 

[Ascholten]

Farming has been sold out to China, and has again, been done so. The small farmer sadly has little chance of success, the big ones can afford to bribe politicians to create laws that do NOT favor anyone / anything small time. They did the same to the fishing industry too, and I am sure probably many others as well.

This is what makes me cringe when I see people say stuff like, oh they soak it in glyo bla bla woof etc. Do you know how much that stuff cost? A farmer can barely make it on what they get when it's a good year, there is NO WAY they are going to just throw chemicals, ie dollars, let alone more than they absolutely have to, just because.

Now if they could manufacture a chicken feed where their poop ain't so smelly, people could have one or two in the house with them in a cage with a sun lamp, put a chicken diaper on it's butt so it can wander around, even eat any bugs you have in the house, and we'd have a thing now! Hey, chicken huggies, to catch the butt nuggies...I see a million dollar idea here! Who wants to go fund me heh.

Aaron

Let me edit and add: DDT has gotten a bad rap, it's not as terrible as they want to make it out to be. Again, a lot of politics going on. Just like with refrigerant, why is R-12 so terrible now? simple, because the patent ran out and anyone can make it, meaning, no monopoly on the money flow, so lets outlaw it and make our new 'ours only' stuff 'better'

You know what some of the newer refrigerants are? CO2, Isobutane, just to name a few. Oh wait, CO2 is the safer better refrigerant now? ... see a trend here?

ANY chemical is bad if it is abused, but when it is, that's a PERSONAL problem, ie the PERSON..... that is bad, NOT the chemical. People really need to learn to understand that fact.

Let me edit again:
I can use salt as a weed killer. If I go overboard with it, it does bad things to it's surroundings, but you have no problems eating it now do you? In fact it is vital to you even being alive.... see a trend here?

 

[SurferchickinSB]

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

I think it has more to do with personal choice. I would think companies like Purina are just a lot bigger possibly then the organic feed grower so they can sell things cheaper. I guess sort of like the difference between Costco and your organic family farm. I pay more and buy organic non-GMO for my girls.

 

[Ascholten]

I think it has more to do with personal choice. I would think companies like Purina are just a lot bigger possibly then the organic feed grower so they can sell things cheaper. I guess sort of like the difference between Costco and your organic family farm. I pay more and buy organic non-GMO for my girls.

Interestingly enough, I have heard that dumor may not be up to quality, they say there is a lot of breakage in the bags? Ok, so it's 'crumbles' then? What's the big deal if you feed them anyways? I also hear it makes them poop much more. Sounds like a lot more fiber in it then if that is true. I have heard others say their chickens wont eat it. I just switched mine to Purina, because the dumor was not available at the feed store where I was at, at the time. believe this or not but, when I put the dumor out, they practically fought over it, with the purina, not so much. They eat but it's not as much as a gluttonous gobble it down type eating. As for the poop quantity, ill see in a few days. Maybe the quality of the product changes from region to region? ie dumor made up north may have different stuff / better / lower quality than down south ere? I honestly don't know.

Free Fertilizer. Dumor makes em Poo More.

Aaron

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Interestingly enough, I have heard that dumor may not be up to quality, they say there is a lot of breakage in the bags? Ok, so it's 'crumbles' then? What's the big deal if you feed them anyways? I also hear it makes them poop much more. Sounds like a lot more fiber in it then if that is true. I have heard others say their chickens wont eat it. I just switched mine to Purina, because the dumor was not available at the feed store where I was at, at the time. believe this or not but, when I put the dumor out, they practically fought over it, with the purina, not so much. They eat but it's not as much as a gluttonous gobble it down type eating. As for the poop quantity, ill see in a few days. Maybe the quality of the product changes from region to region? ie dumor made up north may have different stuff / better / lower quality than down south ere? I honestly don't know.

Free Fertilizer. Dumor makes em Poo More.

Aaron

If it makes them poo more that’s a sign of low quality feed since they aren’t using as much of it. Found this out doing research on dog food for a dog with digestive issues several years ago. It’s true for pretty much any animal food.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

This is what makes me cringe when I see people say stuff like, oh they soak it in glyo bla bla woof etc. Do you know how much that stuff cost? A farmer can barely make it on what they get when it's a good year, there is NO WAY they are going to just throw chemicals, ie dollars, let alone more than they absolutely have to, just because.

This is true...no farmer wants to waste money, yet there are still significant issues with runoff (dead zone in Gulf of Mexico).

I personally think better soil organic content would go a long way towards keeping the chemicals where they’re intended to be. 5-7% vs the 1-3% many farms have these days holds a lot of water, avoiding runoff.

Maybe the farmers could even use less chemicals in this scenario, although that’d be up to the farmer to determine for their situation.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Purina Organic feed is $29.99 for 35 lbs. Nature's Best from PA is $24.99 for 40 lbs. Big Ag does not sell organic feed cheaper.

 

[0wen]

Anything "organic" stopped meaning anything a long time ago... It's a commercial term now, not one remated to husbandry or agriculture.

For a long time, and maybe even still - I've never gone back to check - Roundup was permissible in organic agriculture. At one point, it was THE only organic approved herbicide that allowed your farm to keep its USDA organic label...

If you have a local mill, you can often get a custom feed mixed there at co competitive prices. You usually have to buy a lot. 500-1000lbs, but if you have a storage means...

Or.... thr chickens will do fine on the $8.99 TSC or Rural King brand of feed. Do they have access to grass and such? Floating pond fish food will provide them with "greens" if not.