Weeg and I are often upvoting one another's posts, but on this subject, we disagree. For the very vast majority of people, absent some extreme dietary condition (of the sort that makes me wonder why they have chickens at all), "Organic", or even Non-GMO feeds are vastly overpriced and generally deficient when compared to a similar product placement non-Organic/GMO equivalent.
Two reasons:
One, "Organic" is usually accompanied by other market-trending buzz words of dubious nutritional value, which, while no reflection on "Organic" directly, contribute to a potentially deficient or otherwise problematic feed. "Vegan", "Whole Grain" "Gluten Free" "Soy Free" are commonly cound in combination with Organic, and each introduces potential concerns.
Two, THE most important limiting amino acid in a chickens diet - particularly hatchlings - is Methionine. Need for it decreases as the chicken ages. Plant sources generally are low in methionine, pound per pound - its just not a big component of plant proteins. Yet Methionine is absolutely critical for connective tissue development, plays a big role in feathering, and is the primary indicator of a well developed intestinal tract - which benefits your birds the rest of their lives. Yet available Met sources are so rare, particularly in the smaller subset of crops grown organically, that synthetic Methionine is routinely ADDED to "Organic" feed. In limited amount, such that even ssynthetic supplimented feeds often offer Met levels just meeting the minimum for a fully grown production layer intended for a production layer's lifespan. Where similar amounts of synthetic Met are added to non-Organic feed, a truly superior mix results, particularly for growing birds, but benefiting all bird of all breeds and ages.
Third most important is Lysine. Lysine key to muscle, particularly breast muscle development, and plays an important (if secondary) role in development of the immune system. Again, synthetic Lysine is frequently added in effort to make up for deficiencies in the underlying feed. Europe, particularly, is at the cutting edge of that science. The US? not so much.
Put me in the camp with
@3KillerBs on this subject, and in close company with
@Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay . We sometimes disagree at the margins on feeding, but Lazy J has the benefit of experience - most of my "knowledge" comes from studies, and there are some areas of the science where reasonable, well-educated, people have have quibbles over smaller details while agreeing on the larger issues.
