soy bean meal in the feed? bad for people?

[Littlecimarron18]

So. my egg customers recently quit buying because there is soy mixed in the feed. They say that this is super bad because it makes girls reach puberty faster and makes boys feminine. Is there any proof of this? i find it to be a good source of protien for my birds and my pigs for that matter..

 

[Littlecimarron18]

bump

 

[CovenantCreek]

Do a search for the "soy-free feed" threads, there have 2 or 3 very recently that include links to sites that shed some light on the down side of soy. It can be a challenge to find soy-free feed, so you'll have to decide how important it is to you -- or whether you even choose to believe the negative reports.

 

[Akane]

I don't buy it but it all depends on your opinion. Just like some choose to be vegetarian for various reasons including health and some choose not to eat carbohydrate sources, some people choose not to eat soy. I don't think it's worth trying to feed soy free unless a good portion of your customer base thinks that way.

 

[jvls1942]

I am going to wait with any comments until I see what this thread brings... and then I might not even comment at all..

I do have 2 questions.. how did the people find out what you were feeding?? how many people are we talking about??

 

[Littlecimarron18]

well the co-op that i sell to gets about 30 dozen a week, and they found out becuase my cousin told them, because they gave me a new contract that said absolutly no soy feed and we were a little confused as of why, and long story short they said they wouldnt buy till we "resolved the issue" even thou for the past 2 years they were ok with my soy mix feed.

 

[Wifezilla]

I am not a fan of soy for people, but honestly I am not sure how much of the soy "gunk" goes through in to the eggs.

I have been trying to find a soy-free feed for my ducks. I did find one meat bird feed that uses pork as a protein source instead of soy.

Here is why soy is bad for people....

http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/no-joy.html

Until i find the ideal feed, I am still eating duck eggs. As much as I think soy is garbage, I am not worried enough about it to stop eating their delicious eggs

 

[byrandom]

You could try: http://www.countrysidenatural.com/cnp_store/product.php?productid=135&cat=12&page=1

or: http://www.urbanexod.us/discuss/index.php/topic,23142.0.html

If you wanted to switch. What I would do is add up the profit that I was making per month...

I would then compare the price that I currently pay for "soy-based" feed and the price I would have to pay for the "non-soy-based" feed.

If it was a negligible price (>$20-30 a month, as long as that didn't eat into too much of the profit) I would switch, market the eggs as "free of any soy product" and ask more money...

 

[MoodyChicken]

I think that's only true with tofu, and you have to eat a lot of it before it becomes harmful. I know soybeans carry a poison that interferes with protein digestion, but that's only in low quality soy meal. Also, proteins are completely broken down and rearranged into different proteins before they enter the egg. So what you're feeding changes before it goes into the egg... for the most part.

 

[Littlecimarron18]

My cousin is part of the co-op so maybe he can figure this out. otherwise i will find new customers because my feed is accesable and cheaper than any other feed i've found around my area. i have 100+ hens so i have to buy alot of feed all at once,