Soy and corn-free feed

[Vian]

I just found a new home for our two hens that we've had for more than 4 years. They hadn't laid an egg in about 2 years and were pretty much just pets. Some people with 28 acres out in the country came and got them to be pets, so they are going to a good home.

I want to get a couple new baby pullets for eggs, but I'm not sure what to feed them. The feed we used before was just a plain old chicken feed, likely full of corn and soy. However, there is a local farmer that I bought eggs from at the farmer's market who pastures his chickens and does not feed them corn or soy and his eggs are amazing. I myself follow a paleo diet where I do not eat any grains or legumes for various reasons, and I would like to avoid feeding at least corn and soy to my chickens as well. I know that because they are birds, they are designed to eat grains and seeds and require the carbohydrates, but corn and soy are almost always genetically modified, are difficult to digest, and soy has all kind of hormone-disrupting phytoestrogens.

So what do I feed them instead? I fully intend to feed them kitchen scraps, but I feel they should also be supplemented with more grains, especially during the winter when there's less to forage on.

Thanks!

 

[realsis]

You might want to look at countryside organics online. I order my food from them . The ingredients are wonderful and of course all organic NO GMO. NO soy either. Please take a look at their website. See what you think. Their food also has probotics inside. They have things like field peas and organic wheat organic oats and barely and fish meal with alfalfa flaxseed sea kelp rice bran and wheat middlings they do have a small amount of organic corn pieces but it does not make up the whole of the feed. My birds love it and it sounds like it might be what your looking for. They are very reasonable in price and ship. They are located in VA. And I'm in CA. They have fast shipping and really reasonable charges.i really was impressed with their feed. Take a look online at countryside organics. Look at the ingredients and see what you think. I've been quite pleased with their feed.they are USDA certified organic. Hope this helps. Best wishes

 

[Nambroth]

I too use Countryside. I only have 8 hens and sometimes when I have extra eggs I sell them. People BEG me for these eggs as they prefer them even over the other free range eggs at the farmer's market, to my surprise.
You will have a very hard time finding organic feed that has no corn. I think there are a few places on the west coast that make a feed like this, but shipping to me (on the east coast) was too much for small bags, so my compromise is the soy-free organic Countryside feed.

If you just have a few pullets I think you'll find the 50# bags will really last you a long time. Especially if you have high quality forage (lots of various plants/weeds/grasses/seeds/insects). Even during the winter when there is no forage here, I supplement with sprouted grains but they get mostly chicken feed, and my 9 large fowl birds take almost two months to go through a 50# bag. Your mileage may vary, of course. It ends up costing me about $25/month in feed for my 9 birds, which I know some people would cringe at, but it's worth it for me.