"Organic" Only??

[wbruder17]

Ok, after posting many threads about treating my flock as Organically as possible, and mostly getting responses to the contrary.... I would like to start this thread to discuss all things Organic.

Who is ALL "Organic" and natural?
What works? What doesnt?
Does inorganic food harm the birds?! I just spoke to a man about mites/ fleas and he said they are getting the mites and fleas because i dont give Organic feed (too expensive) and that is causing a problem of some sort. I dont believe this, as my hens SHOULD NOT be dificient in ANYTHING, considering how i feed them.
I use SEVIN DUST for bugs on the birds, because i have tried everything else and bathing 30 birds in Poultry Protector isnt gonna happen 2x a year.... but i HATE SEVIN... and love it at thhe same time This guy made me feel a bit bad *** he said he wouldnt let SEVIN

This is just a start of all my questions. I hope to get a good, intellectual discussion going on pros and cons and anything else about dealing with a flock in the most Organic way possible.

 

[dretd]

Organic is a personal choice and one that I am unwilling to make. I have mite problems too and the type of feed isn't going to make a difference on whether they pick up mites (mine were presents left behind from my 'orgainic mosquite controllers aka barn swallows). I did not find Carbaryl very helpful. I am using a preimeter Pyrethrin spray plus Eprinex alternating with Frontline and am making headway. The perimeter spray is far more important than you may think and the label on the perimerter is 2 weeks and I am having to go every 4 days because they are literally coming out of the woodwork. Oh, and I am hanging a no pest strip with Diclorvos just for good measure.

There was a recent scandal regarding organic brown rice in babyfood. Turns out that fields that used to grow cotton a century ago are now being planted with brown rice. It also turns out that the cotton was treated with all sorts of nasty arsenic containing pesticides that are still present in the soil and taken up by the rice many years later. So technically the rice is organic because the soil hasn't been treated with pesticides for 5 years but it is far worse than many standard-grown things to feed. http://news.discovery.com/human/baby-formula-arsenic-121602.html

I do buy organic stuff like apples, peaches, grapes and such becasue they spray the pesticides on the fruit. You can do a google search that tell you the best things to buy organic. I think some things, like organic baby carrots taste better, too. But to only go with organic everything may be lulling yourself in to a false sence of security.

 

[theoldchick]

I will never meet organic qualifications because I treat my birds with antibiotics when they are sick. I deworm them when they have worms. I like healthy animals and going organic wouldn't work for me.

 

[furbabymum]

I don't do organic because a lot of it is just hype imo.

 

[wbruder17]

Very interesting so far. I am not Organic either. I do the best I can to provide locally manufactured nutrition, and only treat when necessary....but I also want a healthy flock and I have found Organic methods dont work as well and are more labor intensive/ time consuming/ expensive.

I cuddle my birds a lot, and having bugs on them WILL NOT work for this.

 

[furbabymum]

Yeah there's really only so organic you can healthfully go. Sure they didn't used to use anitbiotics and such but a lot of livestock used to die. We have cows that are fed from our property exclusively. We know exactly what they are eating and I'd say that's pretty organic. However, we treat them when they need treated for something because cows are bloody expensive. I just couldn't go totally organic and risk losing a cow I've been fattening up for 2 years.

 

[speckledhen]

You know there are numerous threads on this subject, most collected here in the Organic Topics Index, which is stickied at the top of the page:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/283192/organic-topics-index

 

[wbruder17]

Very interesting so far. I am not Organic either. I do the best I can to provide locally manufactured nutrition, and only treat when necessary....but I also want a healthy flock and I have found Organic methods dont work as well and are more labor intensive/ time consuming/ expensive.

I cuddle my birds a lot, and having bugs on them WILL NOT work for this.