Organic Chickens?!?!

[llhirsh]

I just ordered 8, day old chicks. I am a first time chicken owner, and planning to raise them for eggs only!!! They are being shipped Sept.14. Any suggestions on how to raise them and feed them all organic? I need advice!

Can I avoid soy?

 

[mirime]

I do know that My Pet Chicken has organic feed - but other than that, I'm clueless!

 

[juliect]

Yep! Thanks to Elmo here at BYC, I was introduced to Countryside Naturals line of feeds. They are organic AND soy-free

http://www.countrysidenatural.com/cnp_store/home.php?cat=12

 

[Nostalchic]

The other thing you might do is locate an organic farm/hatchery or dairy in your area and see whether you can buy feed from them. Some of them may be willing to sell to you, or may be able to steer you towards a local producer of organic feeds, and that may - MAY - be cheaper than having it shipped long distances, etc. That's working out for me. There are other manufacturers - try googling organic chicken feed.
Of course, with only 8 chickens, 50 pounds of feed will last a long time, so it may not be such an issue. Good for you for taking the trouble, and good luck.!

 

[elmo]

Quote:
Love, love, love that stuff. And so do my chickens! They've graduated to the ...if you'll pardon the expression..."broiler feed (as if!). It isn't as finely granulated as the chick feed, but it isn't in pelleted form, either. Perfect for my sweet little bantams.

 

[juliect]

Quote:
True, there are many other manufacturers of organic feed...but soy-free is harder to find. Especially for those of us stuck in small towns that are not within 200 miles of an organic farm. Ahhh...I shall always treasure the weird looks I received while searching locally for a source for organic chicken feed

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
You might check the thread on organic chicken raising over on Sufficient Self. The link is at the bottom of the page-all the way at the bottom-and there's some discussion under the "everything else" section, since SS doesn't have a poultry section. And BYC doesn't have an organic or a sustainabilty section.

There are other topics over there that may be of interest to you as well. Good luck! Hope you find what you need.

 

[briesberrypatch]

I bought organic feed from an organic farmer who sells at my local farmers' market. He is pretty large scale, sells animal products (meats & eggs) at farmers' markets all over SW Ohio, and grows his own grains and mixes all the feed for his animals himself. He sells the organic feed as a side business for anyone who wants to come out to the farm to buy it.

Having organic feed shipped FedEx gets very expensive, but I did start out that way until I found my local farmer. I bought from Countryside Natural Products when I first started out.

I'm currently feeding Purina Sunfresh because I don't have time to drive to the farm for organic feed. It's a 70 minute drive each way. Once I finish grad school, I'll go back to buying organic feed.

 

[llhirsh]

Great, thanks so much. Someone else recommended that I buy wheat or barley mix it with equal parts water so that it sprouts. Who knows.

I found a farmer that sells organic, soy free food about an hour from me. I really appreciate the suggestions!

 

[GardeNerd]

I have a list of organic feed sources if you are still looking for one. If you want to see if there are any near you here is a link to the list.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=20741-organic-chicken-feeds

And here is a link to another website about raising chickens organically.
http://organicchickens.homestead.com/