Amount of feed in volume measurment & GMO feed

[laurajean23]

Hi everyone- I've never posted here on the poultry forum, but have done my fair share of reading and exploring the rabbits forum. There is SO much good information to be found here! We don't have chickens yet and currently we get our eggs from a local small time hobby farm.

I'm hoping someone will be able to answer a question I haven't been able to find an answer to online yet.

Is a cup of feed per chicken per day a little bit or a lot? Here's the background to my question:

The chickens at this farm are free range on pasture, so I'm assuming they get much of their diet from the land. Farmer says his 30 chickens get 6 quarts of feed per day, and if I'm doing my math correctly that's 1 cup per chicken per day. I've found that 1/4 pound is pretty standard, but I have no way of finding out how that weight converts to volume.

The reason I'm asking is because I found out the feed he is using contains GMO corn and soy, which I'm going to great lengths to avoid in the rest of my diet. If 1 cup per chicken is a large part of the chicken's diet then I will be more motivated to find a new source for eggs than if it is a very small portion.

If anyone has any extra information to offer in regards to GMO free and soy free feed, or about how GMO's do or do not effect chickens when it's in their feeds then I'm all ears.

Thanks in advance for any information you have to offer!

[laurajean23]

Anybody?

[CaliannG]

1 cup per chicken per day is about right for free ranged chickens. Cooped chickens will eat more.

I suggest that you find a source of farm raised, *Organic* labelled eggs before cutting ties to your current provider. I will give you information on costs of feed, and how that is going to reflect your purchase price:

Farm Raised, basic: Average costs between $2-$3 per dozen...let's use $2 as the base.
Cage Free: Add a $1 to the base price.
Organic (meaning GMO free): Add another $1.50- $2 to the cost. We'll say $1.50.
Chickens fed soy-free diet: Good luck with that. You can find ones that feed organic soy, so that it is GMO free and the feed was raised without chemicals....but finding someone who doesn't feed soy at ALL? Soy is the major source of protein that chickens need to lay dependably. Only the "pasture raised" folks do that, and they are few, far between, and hard to find. If you DO manage to locate one that does that, add another $2 to the costs.

So, by now, your dozen eggs that are cage free, GMO free, Organic, and soy free costs:

$6.50

Are you willing to pay that much for a dozen eggs?

[CaliannG]

Oh, and I might add that everything in an egg is produced by the chicken. Meaning the proteins and such in the egg she synthesized herself; she does not take proteins from her food and shove them directly into her eggs. She breaks down the proteins that she eats into amino acids, then recombines the amino acids into the proper proteins that she needs for her eggs.

In other words, no matter WHAT a chicken is fed, you are not going to find GMO or soy proteins in her eggs. It simply doesn't work that way.

When it comes to proteins (which is the general worry when it comes to GMO or Soy), they are broken down in the digestive tract into the base, amino acid components; they don't become a part of the animal's products.

In other words, it might be healthier for YOU not to consume GMO or Soy, and it might be healthier for the ANIMAL not to consume GMO or soy, but if you eat the flesh, milk, or eggs from an animal that consumed GMO or soy, you will NOT be including GMO or soy in your diet, because no GMO or soy protein actually makes it to the animal's flesh, milk, or eggs.

I hope this makes sense.

Chemicals and hormones, however, such as insecticides, herbicides, antibiotics, BHT, other drugs, etc., etc., CAN pass into the animal's flesh, eggs, or milk, and therefore an animal who has been fed or exposed to these things might not make products that are healthy for you to consume.

[laurajean23]

Thank you, CaliannG. Your response was very helpful for my situation and I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions so thoroughly.