Large commercial chickens not fed soya?

[flowerpot]

So when the subject of Climate Change comes up, and the rainforests being cut down to grow soy(a), it is stated that most of it is for feeding to pigs and chickens.
Just for interest I did a bit of searching to see if I could find a supplier of chickens that does not feed their chickens soya. The only one I found was from The Ethical Butcher.
There seem to be two producers, one feeding the chickens on herbs from the next door herb farm, which seems a good idea! They are about twice the "normal" price.

Marks and Spencer say their chickens are corn fed, but no where in the blurb does it actually say that the chickens don't get fed soya at all.

Does anyone know if there are large commercial flocks that don't?

 

[Exfarmer]

So when the subject of Climate Change comes up, and the rainforests being cut down to grow soy(a), it is stated that most of it is for feeding to pigs and chickens.
Just for interest I did a bit of searching to see if I could find a supplier of chickens that does not feed their chickens soya. The only one I found was from The Ethical Butcher.
There seem to be two producers, one feeding the chickens on herbs from the next door herb farm, which seems a good idea! They are about twice the "normal" price.

Marks and Spencer say their chickens are corn fed, but no where in the blurb does it actually say that the chickens don't get fed soya at all.

Does anyone know if there are large commercial flocks that don't?

Don’t understand the corn fed stance, it just means that virtually all the fedd is imported, and of course corn (maize ) is of course lower in protein than wheat, so requires more soya .

 

[Fogg]

Corn fed, for whatever reason, conjures mental imagery of someone chucking grain from a wicker basket.

It's just a marketing term. No one seems to care what it really means in practice.

 

[Poorbuthappy]

So when the subject of Climate Change comes up, and the rainforests being cut down to grow soy(a), it is stated that most of it is for feeding to pigs and chickens.
Just for interest I did a bit of searching to see if I could find a supplier of chickens that does not feed their chickens soya. The only one I found was from The Ethical Butcher.
There seem to be two producers, one feeding the chickens on herbs from the next door herb farm, which seems a good idea! They are about twice the "normal" price.

Marks and Spencer say their chickens are corn fed, but no where in the blurb does it actually say that the chickens don't get fed soya at all.

Does anyone know if there are large commercial flocks that don't?

We supply the Ethical Butcher with soy free chicken.
Most feed merchants either say "can't do it", or they want best part of £1000/ ton to come up with a soy free ration.
We are working with our merchant as well as experimenting with our own ingredients. But we also work on a "pasture reared" system of daily moves following cattle. I am convinced this helps supplement the diet as they forage insects and pasture much more. It definitely also adds much to the flavour.

I don't know of any large scale producers using a soy free ration in this country. It will come in time. There has been much interest in what we're doing. Feeding insects is also being looked at at various levels.
We are small scale but looking to grow. There is a guy in USA who did 1/2 million chickens last year on the pasture reared system, though not all on a soya free diet. He is in a favourable Southern California climate though so the system works year round, whereas we are currently seasonal.

 

[flowerpot]

Don’t understand the corn fed stance, it just means that virtually all the fedd is imported, and of course corn (maize ) is of course lower in protein than wheat, so requires more soya .

I've understood this to be a "marketing" thing too.

 

[flowerpot]

We supply the Ethical Butcher with soy free chicken.
Most feed merchants either say "can't do it", or they want best part of £1000/ ton to come up with a soy free ration.
We are working with our merchant as well as experimenting with our own ingredients. But we also work on a "pasture reared" system of daily moves following cattle. I am convinced this helps supplement the diet as they forage insects and pasture much more. It definitely also adds much to the flavour.

I don't know of any large scale producers using a soy free ration in this country. It will come in time. There has been much interest in what we're doing. Feeding insects is also being looked at at various levels.
We are small scale but looking to grow. There is a guy in USA who did 1/2 million chickens last year on the pasture reared system, though not all on a soya free diet. He is in a favourable Southern California climate though so the system works year round, whereas we are currently seasonal.

OK, thanks for that, and well done! I didn't think that there would be large scale production of chickens yet, but nice to see that it is something being started.

When I had a few chickens in the garden I was horrified one day to see a mouse being consumed! So chickens certainly do eat anything they can find.

 

[Exfarmer]

OK, thanks for that, and well done! I didn't think that there would be large scale production of chickens yet, but nice to see that it is something being started.

When I had a few chickens in the garden I was horrified one day to see a mouse being consumed! So chickens certainly do eat anything they can find.

They certainly do tastiest morsels generally come from each other.

 

[Netherfield]

OK, thanks for that, and well done! I didn't think that there would be large scale production of chickens yet, but nice to see that it is something being started.

When I had a few chickens in the garden I was horrified one day to see a mouse being consumed! So chickens certainly do eat anything they can find.

Of course they do, have you never seen magpies, crows and similar eating roadkill, all birds are meat eaters given the chance to the point of being cannibals.
Up to the great BSE problem, poultry and pigs were fed Meat and Fish products for protein, available in this country without having to import millions of tonnes of Soya.

 

[Boysground]

Used to do broiler breeders, a Mouse would never survive long in there

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[Devil's advocate]

Used to do broiler breeders, a Mouse would never survive long in there

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broliers have so many health problems

how were the parent stock