organic scratch & peck vs. purina

[5chicks4us]

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I'm worried about the effects of soy in MY body and on the planet.

 

[tarragon]

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I don't want soy in MY food, and since the chickens will be producing my food I will not feed them soy.

 

[Roosterfry]

Unless you are allergic, someone please tell me what wrong with soy?? Really?

 

[abejita]

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He is my 100lb 7yr old giant schnauzer. He did phenomenal with the chickens today!! Wasn't even super interested in them. By the afternoon, I was letting him go out in the back yard by himself (he has a dog door) and just watching from the window. Half the time, he didn't even go over to the coop!

 

[tarragon]

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There is still a lot of debate about it, but soy consumption (processed soy, not naturally fermented soy such as miso and tempeh) has been linked to thyroid problems, as well as being a phytoestrogen. A friend of mine told me that her mother's oncologist (the mother had breast cancer) told her never to eat soy, because it mimics estrogen in the body. Soy, in it's fermented form and in moderation is probably fine, but in our society soy (usually GMO) is heavily processed and is used as filler in so many things that moderation would be impossible. I avoid processed foods, I avoid buying anything with soy in it, and so I don't want my chickens eating it either, since I want to eat their eggs.

The research is conflicting, so when that happens I tend to ask "does this item provide something I cannot get from some other food?" The beneficial things in soy are available in other foods, so when in doubt, I avoid the questionable food.

 

[latebloomer]

to greatly simplify, a lot of animal feed has soy in it, the human population is driving an increased supply of meat, between raising the animals and the soybeans for their feed, the earth is losing it's trees.

 

[centrarchid]

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I recommend giving birds a choice for a while to see if palatability differences exists. A couple organic and / or all plant based diets I have tried do not go over well with bulk of my free range birds. Only birds that did not discriminate were intensive production birds like California greys. If not consumed, then no matter how nutritionally complete nutrtional needs will not be met. Same problem can exist for non-organic feeds. Sometimes time required to acclimate to a new diet.

Organic feeds are not inherently superior for health of your birds. They are fomulated to meet in some ways arbitrary critera that can make nutrients be in form the average bird does not care for or is unable to use.

This a longer term issue but chickens need to be selected to grow on diets they will consume for production. I do not know how free range your birds which can be a matter of degree in respect to nutrition, but that can strongly influence your flocks use of different feeds.

 

[Cindy in PA]

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I recommend giving birds a choice for a while to see if palatability differences exists. A couple organic and / or all plant based diets I have tried do not go over well with bulk of my free range birds. Only birds that did not discriminate were intensive production birds like California greys. If not consumed, then no matter how nutritionally complete nutrtional needs will not be met. Same problem can exist for non-organic feeds. Sometimes time required to acclimate to a new diet.

Organic feeds are not inherently superior for health of your birds. They are fomulated to meet in some ways arbitrary critera that can make nutrients be in form the average bird does not care for or is unable to use.

This a longer term issue but chickens need to be selected to grow on diets they will consume for production. I do not know how free range your birds which can be a matter of degree in respect to nutrition, but that can strongly influence your flocks use of different feeds.

Nice blanket statement on organic. I have used many feeds over the years. Haven't found the perfect feed yet. Each one has something lacking. My chickens have eaten most equally well. When I choose organic it's because of the the way it is grown. There is nothing inherently wrong with organic when compared with other feeds. If you don't like it or choose it that's up to you. Making it "sound" somehow deficient is crap.

 

[gale65]

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How do those cause loss of trees?

 

[Roosterfry]

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There is still a lot of debate about it, but soy consumption (processed soy, not naturally fermented soy such as miso and tempeh) has been linked to thyroid problems, as well as being a phytoestrogen. A friend of mine told me that her mother's oncologist (the mother had breast cancer) told her never to eat soy, because it mimics estrogen in the body. Soy, in it's fermented form and in moderation is probably fine, but in our society soy (usually GMO) is heavily processed and is used as filler in so many things that moderation would be impossible. I avoid processed foods, I avoid buying anything with soy in it, and so I don't want my chickens eating it either, since I want to eat their eggs.

The research is conflicting, so when that happens I tend to ask "does this item provide something I cannot get from some other food?" The beneficial things in soy are available in other foods, so when in doubt, I avoid the questionable food.

Ok thank you for the response, I'm going to have to look into it