Vegetarian Chickens?

[hikerchick]

Quote:
Someone should do some research about the correlation between vegetarianism and thin skin.
It's sad, that a little bit of light humor, is not tolerated, anymore.

Just because you don't appreciate people making fun of you for your personal choices does not mean you have thin skin. It's called wanting the same respect that you give others.

 

[CityChicker]

Which sites sell soy-free organic chicken feed? I am just curious to check and see how it is made. I would think it would be hard to make an organic feed in the US with soy anyway since so much is genetically modified. I have *heard* that certified organic foods cannot contain GMO's, but it is not something I have researched recently.

I have heard soy implicated in all sorts of hormonal related issues (as well as other issues) including early puberty in girls and certain physical defects in baby boys. That said, I have also heard that obesity (in girls) is implicated in some of this as well (haven't read the studies, just going off something said in last week's Penn and Teller on organic foods).

Anyway, it is an interested discussion. I haven't read the thread yet, but I just don't know about vegetarian chickens. I can understand wanting to feed them organic though. The use of GMO's really is scary considering some of what is happening like butterflies dying off.

 

[Chris09]

CityChicker:

Which sites sell soy-free organic chicken feed?

Here is one.. Don't let your jaw hit the ground when you see the price per 50 lbs. LOL

chris

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

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

That feed looks really good. The price isn't too horribly scary, but the shipping is!

 

[CityChicker]

Quote:
Here is one.. Don't let your jaw hit the ground when you see the price per 50 lbs. LOL

chris

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

LOL, umm, yeah...

$23.20 plus $26.54 for shipping.... my poor girls can keep on eating the chemical laden food, LOL.

 

[Chris09]

CityChicker:

$23.20 plus $26.54 for shipping.... my poor girls can keep on eating the chemical laden food, LOL

LOL I know what you mean.. You figure that's 49.75 for 50 lbs. I can get four 50 lbs bags of my feed, a 80 lbs bag of food grade lime and still have 1.00 left over.... I pay 11.00 for a 50 lbs bag of 22% Protein grower and 4.00 for 80 lbs of food grade lime. I add the food grade lime to the laying hens feed.

Chris​

 

[Rivka]

Yea I tried to raise my kids vegetarian too...I am not what I would call vegetarian...I just don't eat mammals. I only eat occasional chicken ( which is harder to eat now that they are pets!)
But once my kids started going to bday parties and saw hot dogs, that was over. I did not want them to feel weird at parties and barge in and tell them NO hotdogs.
So now on to chickens, I would NEVER give mine any animal proteins. Sure they free range for bugs...that is not meat to me.. uck the whole thing sort of grosses me out.
I think also it is a marketing ploy as I bet the store bought eggs come from the cheapest non protein mash which by way of profit is vegetarian.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
It is a subtle distinction, bugs vs. meat. In the digestive system, the proteins break down the same. In the end (no pun intended), the chickens system doesn't care if it was bugs, fish or "meat."

It is generally accepted within the poultry business that good nutrition includes some form of animal protein. It has been arrived at in may ways over the years, from shrimp meal to what was once called "beef scrap" (slaughterhouse leaving, steamed and them dried).
Most current chicken feed that I have checked contains animal based protein, about 10%. Generally, it consists of a regulated protein base blend, the source of which would really gross you out. I have a place nearby that makes the stuff for the feed industry. I find it all rather fascinating, myself.
So it isn't safe to assume that vegetarian feed is, by default, cheaper.

P.S. If this stuff grosses you out, you probably don't want to google the word carrion. This is a perfectly natural food source, which chickens will happily eat, too.

 

[ivan3]

Metabolizable energy equivalents are just that. Organic? As in Chemistry?

Addressing dietary metaphysics is beyond my ken and none of my business (as mine merely extends to taking a protein pill before putting on my helmet). But, what do our monogastric, omnivorous `diapsid' denizens really want (we can easily substitute that for what they need - but where's the fun in that?).

An interesting thread about `ancestral' Jungle Fowl diets (and ancillary matters).
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=140469&p=1

DiVon80 wrote: Why not just eat species appropriate diets....WHY change! Sure I add goods things to my chickens diet(flax,wild bird seed, Sunflower hearts, safflower, wheat and lots of other good things). They have game bird feed as a basis. Game bird still adds animal protein, not just soy

If you are using Purina brand check your bags (only starter/layena still list animal protein) but ours is bagged in St. Louis (we also augment with plenty of Grey Tree Frogs/snakes/etc....).

Chris09 wrote: "Research is now showing that when you feed your baby soy formula, you're giving him or her the equivalent of five birth control pills a day" ...

Breastfeeding has always been the main culprit. However, this is a `longitudinal' study reported in the JAMA (JAMA. 2001;286:807-814).:

Design, Setting, and Participants Retrospective cohort study conducted from March to August 1999 among adults aged 20 to 34 years who, as infants, participated during 1965-1978 in controlled feeding studies conducted at the University of Iowa, Iowa City (248 were fed soy formula and 563 were fed cow milk formula during infancy).

Main Outcome Measures Self-reported pubertal maturation, menstrual and reproductive history, height and usual weight, and current health, compared based on type of formula exposure during infancy.

Results No statistically significant differences were observed between groups in either women or men for more than 30 outcomes. However, women who had been fed soy formula reported slightly longer duration of menstrual bleeding (adjusted mean difference, 0.37 days; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.06-0.68), with no difference in severity of menstrual flow. They also reported greater discomfort with menstruation (unadjusted relative risk for extreme discomfort vs no or mild pain, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.04-3.00).

Conclusions Exposure to soy formula does not appear to lead to different general health or reproductive outcomes than exposure to cow milk formula. Although the few positive findings should be explored in future studies, our findings are reassuring about the safety of infant soy formula.

You might want to bookmark the following as I expect the outcomes will be posted up before Christmas (latest and greatest): Effects of Infant Diets on Estrogen Activity and Development : http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00340665

To access the GAM Nutrient Requirements of Poultry 9th edition (free to read online at the NAS):

http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=2114

(not taking any position beyond opining that soylent green was probably a well balanced ration

) ME(d)​

 

[Patti001]

Vegetarin Chickens has to be a marketing ploy. I only feed my chickens vegys and grain products but they are outside they love the bugs and worms that come up after a nice rain. I cannot imagine being able to keep them away from what comes natural to there nature.
Enjoying watching my flock grow.....