Soybeans are a staple ingredient in conventional poultry feed. Produced as an inexpensive byproduct from processing soybeans for oil production, its fiber is then toasted and used as animal food.
Farmers have been searching for alternative sources of protein to replace soy, such as field peas and high quality fish meal. Unfortunately, these proteins possess different amino acid patterns than soybean meal.
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Protein
Soybeans are an economical ingredient used in chicken feed. Farmers cultivate soybeans before processing them to extract oil; then the leftover fibers are roasted and added as ingredients in chicken food products. When eaten raw, soy is packed with protein.
Soy is essential in creating a high quality and balanced laying hen diet, as it supplies essential amino acids like methionine and lysine, while providing one of the few sources of linoleic acid which provides key nutrition for birds.
Small Pet Select offers certified organic, soy- and corn-free layer feed. Their feed combines grains, Fertrell Poultry NutriBalancer, grit calcium and cold-pressed oils into an effective feeding program, helping our flocks achieve 2.5kg weight in 8 weeks with good feather cover scoring (critical for free range birds). Unfortunately it is more costly than traditional factory farm feed.
Fat
Soybean oil is an integral component of most commercial feeds, processed from whole soybeans with high levels of phytoestrogens that may pose health risks like hypothyroidism and other disorders. Furthermore, soy farming has contributed significantly to forest destruction around the world.
Alternative proteins can be used to create a diet free from soy, yet it can be challenging to reach a balanced meal without including soy products. Since alternative proteins often differ in terms of their amino acid profiles from soybean meal, nutrient deficiencies could arise as a result.
Rendered poultry fat (PF), an affordable byproduct from poultry slaughterhouses, can be used as a low-cost replacement for soybean oil in feed formulation. Research shows that this substitution resulted in improved economic parameters like net return, feed cost/bird and conversion ratio compared to control diets.
Vitamins
As with all living organisms, chickens need vitamins and minerals in their diet to stay healthy. While some vitamins can be made by microorganisms in their digestive tract, others must be added because chickens cannot produce them themselves (like vitamin C).
Commercial chicken feeds usually include a vitamin pre-mix consisting of alfalfa meal and distillers’ dried solubles, along with potentially fatal intestinal infections such as Coccidiostats for control, as well as antibiotics to help prevent illness from overcrowded conditions.
Commercial poultry feeds contain too much protein, leading to deficiencies of certain amino acids like methionine, cysteine and lysine. To compensate, manufacturers supplement these diets with isolated methionine and lysine supplements in order to increase egg production more rapidly while speeding through molting season faster. Other feed ingredients might include kelp meal, fish oil or yeast for their chickens’ wellbeing.
Minerals
Chickens also require minerals for optimal health. Most of their nutrition comes from whole grains and animal byproducts like bone meal or feather meal; other important sources include organic sulfur, kelp meal, lupins and flax seeds.
Soybean meal is used in many commercial layer diets due to its high protein levels, yet contains phytates which hinder mineral absorption such as calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc. Soybean meal has one of the highest phytate levels among food sources.
Hens in this experiment will be fed a diet consisting of Certified Organic ingredients free from soy and corn designed by a poultry nutrition specialist, each ration containing its own vitamin and mineral pre-mix designed to maximize egg production and quality. They will also be tested to ensure peak egg production and quality.
Allergens
Soy is a very common ingredient found in commercial chicken feed and allergies are increasingly widespread, even trace amounts causing severe reactions in some individuals.
Chickens in the wild do not consume soy as it is not part of their natural diet. Commercially produced soy used to produce chicken feed has first been processed to extract its oil, then the fiber removed and toasted before finally being fed to chickens as food.
If someone in your family has a soy allergy, selecting chickens raised on soy-free feed is imperative. In addition, corn allergies are another source of trouble, making soy and corn free feed more accessible as more people search for it. It has become easier to locate both types of feed.
