Chicken - Regular versus Organic
April 1st, 2005
I was asked what the difference was between regular chicken feed and organic chicken feed. I called the supplier this morning and this was their answer,
REGULAR chicken feed may or may not have GMO's, it is a medicated feed, it is either vegetable based likely soya for the protien or some kind of meat meal (our supplier uses vegetable based), and the grains are conventionally grown which may or may not include pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
The ORGANIC chicken feed has no GMO's, no meat meal, no pesticide or chemical fertilizer on any of the grains and is not medicated.
When I inquired the other day I was given the wrong information as to the price of organic feed verses regular feed. The cost is double. SO SORRY FOR THE WRONG INFORMATION BUT THE ORGANIC CHICKENS WILL BE $4.00 per pound and the regular fed chickens $2.00 per pound.
This year we will be purchasing our chicken feed but we hope next year to grow our own chicken feed. Then we know what they are being fed.
We will have free range chicken eggs soon as I now have the chickens and we let them run free on the farm. We are transitional to organics which is why the chickens this year are fed purchased chicken feed.
There are many ways to farm one extreme now taking place out west is farmers spraying their grain feilds with the pesticide round up to kill the weeds and dry the grain out. You are suppose to wait 30 days after using round up for human consumption but because of the number of days for harvesting and shipping the grain is harvested with in a week of being sprayed and then shipped for human consumption. We heard of that practise in Ontario as well. The idea is that the fall is wet and trying to harvest grain that is dry is difficult so you chemically dry it out and then harvest it. There are farmers who do not use any fertilizers or pesticides on their grains but are not certified organic. So you get everything in between the two. Chickens can be housed by the thousands and fed hormone and medicated feed in dark barns with the manure not being removed until they are slaughtered (big long chicken barns usually yellow)or you can have chickens running free in the yard and just about every
thing in between.
Unless you buy from the local farmer you really do not know what you are buying or how it was raised. I think that is why organics is a very fast growing trend because we are held to the highest standards with very very strick regulations on how we farm. We have to map every field and record everything that is approved and then applied to that field. Every animal has a certain number of square feet and pasture space. There are strict guidelines for fresh air and water quality. We have to test our water every year.
Long answer to a short question. I am pasionate about healthy food can you tell? When you bury as many people as I have to cancer its a good motivator.
Thanks for reading, Laura
