Organic or non-organic

[Olive Hill]

The thing you need to remember about organic vs non-organic is that in order to raise truly organic birds you have to adopt some of the very practices most backyard/homestead chicken raisers are trying to avoid supporting. Organic birds' environment must be controlled to ensure they are, in fact, consuming organic feedstuffs. This means, for one, you have to exchange a free-ranging, natural lifestyle for cages. And is exactly why I do NOT raise organic birds.

There is a great article at the NY Times that was featured a while back on this very issue -- Organic v Conventional by Makenna Goodman. I would urge you to read it and other documents like it that explain the pros and cons of organic raising before making a decision.

NOW, if you're asking just if you should feed organic feed for your own piece of mind and have no interest in organic certification/raising truly organic birds, only you can answer that question. If it makes you feel better about your birds, your own consumption of grain products as they impact the environment, etc and does not break your bank? Go for it!

 

[coberdor]

You can free-range and be organic.

No chemicals ever touch my lawn or pastures! Who ever stated you can't free range and be organic. Only if you spray the crap out of your lawn to kill the weeds that the chemical companies have convinced all the consumers are just awful to have in your lawn. What a joke! You want a gimmick, now there's a gimmick. Convincing all the dumb consumers that you have to all have your lawn look exactly alike, and to do that you have to spray a bunch of chemicals on it. Then you children and pets can also be "pest free" and poisoned!

 

[Olive Hill]

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And that's your choice!

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Me too! On both counts!

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Agreed!

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I'm not sure what this has to do with organic v non-organic, but my daughters' school allows peanut butter -- both organic and non, natural and processed.

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Well, actually the biggest change is our technology -- which has led to significant changes in all areas of lifestyle, diet included.

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Fundamentally wrong and incredibly closed-minded. I sometimes say bad things about organics and the organic industry, for the record I don't recall the last time I went to McDonalds. We place a high value on self-sustainability, raise as much of our own food as possible (and garden "organically", but not certified organically), and eat 3 meals per day plus snacks 7 days per week made "from scratch" out of our own kitchen. But I also don't have the wool pulled over my eyes and can see the pros and cons to all sides of the issue and the fact that organic food as it is defined today is not the cure-all to our problems.

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In all issues there will be staunch supporters and staunch opposition. What is interesting to me is that neither of those groups seem to be able to see that they are very much like the other.

They hold a view much like your own, just to the polar opposite. You seem to think incredibly highly of organics without giving an inch for critical analysis of it's good and bad. They hold a highly negative view of the organic movement without giving an inch to it's credits. Neither position is right or productive.

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Actually, you did. Above. And on equally false premises.

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I agree with you here.

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Perhaps the issue is not with what the opposition thinks of the way you are living, but in your need to defend yourself. Are you happy with your choices? That's all that matters.

If you want to further the organic v conventional discussion that's great! But this isn't the way to do it and maybe, if it gets your feathers so fluffed you can't do so without stooping to "their" level, you should take a step back and really think about why it is you get so riled up... and how you can avoid that and really work towards furthering the conversation next time.

 

[Olive Hill]

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And your chickens never leave your lawn?

And your neighbors (if you have them) do not spray their lawn (and thus produce overspray)?

And if you do not have neighbors but live rurally (as I do) the neighboring fields are not sprayed (again overspray and rain water run off)?

There are many more variables to free-ranging and certifying organic than simply if you personally spray your lawn.

 

[Big C]

We use Purina Sun Fresh. This grade of feed is top. In our area, the other brands sold are made from the leftovers. We have noticed that our feed costs decreased after switching to this feed brand vs a "store label".
We realize that this is not "organic" but to date it is the closest you can get to "organic" in our area.
But, this is only about 40% of our flocks daily intake to date. We grow and feed from our organic gardens the other 60%.

 

[GardeNerd]

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Most folks considering raising their chickens on organic feed or asking about it, probably feel similarly to me that their family's health is not a waste of money.

Yes, organic foods, including chicken feed, are more expensive, but that is partially because most organic practices are more labor intensive. I know, since I switched to exclusively organic practices in my garden more than 15 years ago.

This first year, my organic eggs are costing me about $1.45 a dozen to raise when I figured in all of my organic feed costs plus other non food supplies. I would agree it is high in comparison to eggs raised with conventional feed. However, the same cage free organic eggs locally would cost me $4.99-$5.99 a dz. at the store. Therefore, it is not a waste of my time or money to raise them organically. We don't sell our eggs, so certification for us is a non-issue.

 

[coberdor]

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And your chickens never leave your lawn?

And your neighbors (if you have them) do not spray their lawn (and thus produce overspray)?

And if you do not have neighbors but live rurally (as I do) the neighboring fields are not sprayed (again overspray and rain water run off)?

There are many more variables to free-ranging and certifying organic than simply if you personally spray your lawn.

My chickens never leave their fenced in acre.

My neighbors don't use chemicals either.

As for everything in the air, certified or non-certified, they all breath the air. Certified farms do not have to hermetically sealed their livestock from the air around them. Farms raising organic beef do not have to keep their cattle inside in air-conditioned, filtered barns.

 

[coberdor]

I feed Organic pride layer and grower to my chicks. I add organic kelp and organic fishmeal to the layer. There is a local grain elevator that carries the organic.

I also add my own organic vegetables and fruits to their food. I dry tons of my chard, beet greens, sweet potatoes, and fruits to add in winter to their feed. The chard and beet greens I dry and put in the food processor to chop up unto flakes, which easily adds to their feed. The sweet potatoes and fruits that I dry, I add to their warm mash in winter. They love the special treats in winter.

 

[Olive Hill]

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And your chickens never leave your lawn?

And your neighbors (if you have them) do not spray their lawn (and thus produce overspray)?

And if you do not have neighbors but live rurally (as I do) the neighboring fields are not sprayed (again overspray and rain water run off)?

There are many more variables to free-ranging and certifying organic than simply if you personally spray your lawn.

My chickens never leave their fenced in acre.

My neighbors don't use chemicals either.

As for everything in the air, certified or non-certified, they all breath the air. Certified farms do not have to hermetically seal their livestock from the air around them. Farms raising organic beef do not have to keep their cattle inside in air-conditioned, filtered barns.

Case in point.

And I never said a word about the air. Trust me, I'm more than a little acquainted with organic certification standards.

 

[PurpleChicken]

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I can buy a good certified organic layer for $22 per 50lb bag or $12 for regular Nutrena Now that I only have a few birds I may opt to feed them organically, especially since they don't get much free range time in. So, for me the slightly higher cost seems justified. Will it make any difference in my health? I doubt it, especially since I eat a lot of non-organically vegies and junk, like the bag of Doritos I just chowed down.

In my opinion, if you can afford a 90% organic diet rich in vegies, whole grains, and good animal proteins you reduce your risks of many different types of diseases, especially cancers. There are so many carcinogenic and mutinogenic compounds in our foods today it's scary.

I like that the water supply issue and agricultural runoffs have bee touched on here. I believe anyone with any sense can see the amount of chemicals we dump on our crops and soil is obscene. It's promoted and a modern miracle, and in some ways it is, but it's 90% about profits and pretty fruits and vegies. Agricultural runoff is probably the largest contributor to water pollution there is.

Green and well watered lawns are something that bother me a lot. People spraying pesticides, herbacides, fungicides, and fertilizers on their lawns is digusting. In addition the amount of water wasted and the amount of energy wasted to pump that water is ridiculous. This is a HUGE environmental issue that most people seem to just ignore.

I'm a conservative and hardly a tree hugger. As a conservative I believe it's important to CONSERVE our water, land, energy, and most of all our public health.