Is there such thing as a NON-GMO bird

Briani

In the Brooder
Jan 4, 2016
17
18
49
Ok so next year I'm wanting to get started raising meat birds. But I don't want a GMO bird that is going to make me sick. I know food has a lot to do with it and water. I'm working on that. But my question is what is a good heirloom chicken I can raise for meat. I'm sick of eating the walmart stuff. And while I'm on the subject of Non-GMO, what is a great Non-GMO egg layer. Right now I have the red stars and from what I can tell they are all GMO bird. and like I said I want to get back to a heirloom style ( if that is even such a thing ). Thanks for the input...
 
Ok so next year I'm wanting to get started raising meat birds. But I don't want a GMO bird that is going to make me sick. I know food has a lot to do with it and water. I'm working on that. But my question is what is a good heirloom chicken I can raise for meat. I'm sick of eating the walmart stuff. And while I'm on the subject of Non-GMO, what is a great Non-GMO egg layer. Right now I have the red stars and from what I can tell they are all GMO bird. and like I said I want to get back to a heirloom style ( if that is even such a thing ). Thanks for the input...
GMO = A genetically modified organism (GMO) is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques (i.e., a genetically engineered organism).

As far as I know, no chicken breeds are GMO. Just because normal genetic methods such as choosing which characteristics to breed for have been used in making the CornishX meat birds and the production layers such as White Leghorns or your Red Stars, it does not make them GMO.

There are lots of different kinds of heritage chickens to choose from but even those are being selectively bred to meet the breed SOPs.
 
Well my thoughts are (and I'm no scientist) a broiler chicken isn't a normal chicken. In about 8 weeks they are almost too big to walk. So in 5-6 months how could they lay a egg to hatch? My thoughts are that is a GMO bird? I don't know just my thoughts? And I've been wrong before. I would just like to get back to something close to what God made.

I'm still not totally clear what you are after. GMO can mean different things to different people. For many of us that means messing with things at the DNA level with gene splicing and such. In spite of a lot of misinformation on the internet and other places, that does not apply to any chicken. None. Nada. It is just not true.

Some plants that produce the food we feed our chickens have been modified by gene splicing. To avoid those you need to feed them non-GMO feeds.

The Cornish X and the chickens that lay eggs commercially have been developed by selective breeding. Around the 1950's scientists who studied genetics were able to develop the Cornish X meat birds by choosing the parents and grandparents wisely. This was long before gene splicing. I'm not sure when the egg laying hybrids were developed but it was the same idea. The geneticists carefully selected which chickens got to breed and were able to develop these specialists.

By selective breeding they were able to develop meat birds and egg laying birds that were as good as you could get. They had great food to meat or egg conversions. If they gained weight any faster their bodies couldn't handle it and would break down. Or if they laid more or larger eggs the egg quality was bad or the hens had health issues because hens just could not handle it. They did not need any expensive gene splicing to produce a more productive chicken. The meat birds are so efficient that they need to be butchered at a certain size or their bodies will break down. Similarly the commercial egg layers tend to have more health problems, especially if they are overfed.

The parents of the Cornish X are kept from growing so large they cannot mate or live long enough to lay eggs by restricted feeding. They need to be fed enough of the right nutrients to keep them healthy and laying plenty of good hatching eggs without them getting too big. It is a really exact science that the professionals have mastered. Most of us can't do that very well at all.

All chicken breeds have been created by selective breeding. The reason barred rocks are black barred is that they were selectively bred to be barred and black instead of having some other color or pattern. The reason Leghorns lay white eggs is that they were selectively bred to lay white eggs. This type of thing has been going on since chickens were first domesticated thousands of years ago. People learned if they hatch eggs from their best egg layers those offspring tended to be good egg layers. If they bred for size they made better meat birds. Different breeds of dogs, cattle, and practically all other domesticated animals were developed the same way, selective breeding.

You are not going to find a chicken as God made them unless you can get hold of the wild jungle fowl chickens were domesticated from. You probably would not be very happy with them. They do not lay many eggs and they are really small, not much meat on them. It would be like eating a bantam chicken.

If you are talking about selective breeding producing a GMO chicken you are not going to find that in any chicken or really any domesticated plant or animal you eat. They have all been selectively bred. If GMO to you means gene splicing at the DNA level get any chicken and feed it non-GMO foods.

I know this is long and your eyeballs are probably rolling in their sockets by now. But I think you and many other people out there have some pretty strong misconceptions about this whole business. If I have been clear enough maybe you can now make an informed decision.
 
GMO (genetically modified organism) is used to refer to a plant or animal modified by gene splicing. As such, I don't think there are any chicken breeds in that group. Of course, chicken breeds have been developed by selective breeding. That includes heirloom breeds. I think, what you may really want, is organic? If you want to avoid GMOs you will want organic food as most corn grown in the US is genetically modified.
 
It has not been mentioned but hormones were outlawed in chickens in the late 1950's, about the time the Cornish X was developed. They did not need them, they can do everything with selective breeding they need to do to give a fast-growing chicken that has excellent food to meat conversion.

When you see a package of chicken label no hormones they are not lying it you but I consider that misleading. That implies their competitors use them which is just not true.
 
Few things.
1. As mentioned, GMO only applies to plants, not animals. Thus, no GMO chickens exist; only selective breeding. If you have a cat or dog, they are selectively bred also. They're not wolves or African Wildcats; therefore they are selectively bred.

2) GMO is not bad for you. It has been proven that Genetically Modified Organisms have no negative effects on humans or other animals who ingest them. Eating GMO feeds and Organic feeds do the same thing for you. They feed you, they give you nutrients. The only difference is the quantity produced. GMO foods typically produce in larger quantities. And, as aforementioned, GMO feeds were created to make it easier for farmers to spray their fields for weeds. Really, GMO is no big deal. The public is just scared of big words. It's the dang show all over again that happened with MSG. Nothing bad there, all it did was enhance flavor.

3) If you're looking into meat birds there is not a single one that exists that even closely resembles the first chicken ancestor that evolved on this planet. I don't care what breed you use. Unless you're using a Junglefowl it won't even get close to making the cut.

4) Pick a domesticated breed that serves you well. If you want REALLY good meat production and moderate egg production, choose a Brahma. We're talking 12lb males and 9lb females. If you want better egg production that is more well balanced with meat production choose an Orpington, Australorp, Dorking, or Jersey Giant. The hens produce well and the males get pretty decently big.

Best of luck and remember:
GMO and Selective Breeding are NOT the same things. Think Wolf vs Dog.

-Cyprus
 
Are you familiar with Frankenstein's he created a person out of parts from other dead people. that is the Cornish cross, esp the bloodlines of grocery store chickens 100% chicken, but as cassie mentioned it is in essence the off spring of 2 lines bred separately for parental stock from what I gather here but once mature the mix of the 2 lines are used for meat only birds no breeding stock. think of a milk cow once the baby is born an weaned 100% of the milk after that gets bottled or made into dairy products not for baby. GMO plants, and on a vary limited animal stock Frankenstein uses like a horse head, elephant heart and pig stomach for his monster....
This post was a wild ride from start to finish!
 

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