Soybean meal in chicken feed - good or bad

[Folly's place]

Here in the Midwest, none of that is easily available. We have lots of corn and soybean oil meal, lovely stuff, and not 'fishy' at all!
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

Actually, I find the thought of fish meal or crab meal kinda gross too. Mary

 

[ronott1]

Soy is fine as long as it is not too much of a percentage in the feed. Chicken feed from the feed store is pretty much the perfect food for chickens

 

[Cindy in PA]

Soy is fine as long as it is not too much of a percentage in the feed. Chicken feed from the feed store is pretty much the perfect food for chickens

As is well made soy free chicken food from the store!

 

[Cindy in PA]

Actually, I find the thought of fish meal or crab meal kinda gross too. Mary

What do you like for animal protein or don't you care for that? Much better than vegetarian feed.

 

[ronott1]

As is well made soy free chicken food from the store!

That is assumed by my post!

Too much fish meal is bad...too much peas is bad..But the chicken feed has been formulated for chicken health

 

[Folly's place]

I like a balanced feed that's sold fresh at the local feed stores, and around here there's no longer any that include animal parts of any sort. I'd be happy to buy something including some fish meal, but it's not available here.
The balanced feeds do have the correct blend of amino acids needed, so they are fine without that fish meal.
My birds free range most of the year, and catch their own 'animal proteins' out there. Not fish, however.
Mary

 

[Cindy in PA]

Soy free feed sold in feed stores or at the mill is balanced. I prefer some animal protein, as mine cannot free range since they built a development behind me here in farm country. I never had problems from 1993 until after 2004 when they started taking out animal protein. I have searched for years now to find a great feed. Do not like having a higher protein feed when it is just upped by soy protein. Fresh feed is also hard to get at times. The soy free mash is made at least weekly & the pellets are also from a local mill that supplies the feed store 25 miles from me.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Peas, beans, and other legumes are toxic to chickens. This means that these foods must be ground up, cooked, roasted, or steamed and the resulting soybean oil either squeezed out or chemically expelled before you feed the resulting soybean meal to your flock. If you stop and think about it Soy or other beans are toxic to humans because they gives us gas.

 

[theguineaman]

My hens eat soy-based layer crumbles as a supplement to full outside ranging. I have never had a problem with that. My hens live off grass, bugs, etc., so a little soy is not a problem for me. Soy is just a good supply of protein when my hens need it.