Soy is an increasingly common ingredient in chicken feed because it’s cheap and contains high levels of the amino acid lysine, but soy allergens and can increase hormone levels significantly.
Our organic soy free chicken feed includes alternative forms of protein such as organic flax seed meal and canola meal, fortified with calcium, grit and Fertrell Poultry NutriBalancer to ensure high egg production with greater egg shell strength in our hens. This ensures maximum productivity.
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Benefits
Soy-free chicken feed offers numerous advantages, with one key benefit being reduced allergy risks. Soy allergies are very prevalent, and by eliminating it from their diet you are significantly decreasing their chances of experiencing an allergic reaction from it.
Soy-free feed also assists with improving digestion. Soybeans contain lectins which bind to the stomach lining, hindering absorption of nutrients. A diet without soy may reduce these toxins and improve your chicken’s digestive health.
An egg quality-enhancing diet includes going without soy-based feed. Doing so will prevent an build-up of estrogen in the hen’s system that could otherwise reduce egg production and quality, leading to lower output or yield of eggs produced.
A soy free feed can be created using alternative protein sources like organic flax seed meal and organic canola meal, both of which provide adequate levels of amino acids while still being safe for laying hens. Furthermore, supplemented calcium and minerals will ensure strong eggshells for your chickens by offering free choice diet of oyster shells or giving grit as food grinding aid for their gizzards.
Allergens
At first, it was difficult for Aaron to feed his chickens soy-free feed. At first, their growth wasn’t as fast or costs more – however he soon discovered there is an increasing demand for soy-free chicken products.
Soy can cause allergies in some people, while new studies indicate that excessive consumption may result in phytoestrogens (plant estrogens) building up in the liver, heart, kidneys and muscles of poultry fed conventional soy-based feed. Four studies show soy isoflavones transferred from feed directly into eggs of these poultry fed traditional soy-based chows.
Corn is another allergen widely utilized in the USA, affecting approximately 10% of people. A smaller subset may react adversely to trace amounts of corn protein found in most commercial animal feed products.
Hormone Levels
Consumers frequently raise concerns over hormone levels in meat and other poultry products. It is important to remember that no hormones are used in chicken feed in the US; in fact, their use was outlawed during the 1950’s.
Humans produce more hormones naturally every day than we consume through food; currently, the only two available in food are recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBST) and hemagglutinin; an anti-clotting agent which ensures red blood cells receive oxygen efficiently.
Soy can be dangerous because of its phytoestrogen content, which acts like estrogen in the body. Chickens in nature tend to eat vegetable scraps, grasses, bugs and grit instead of soy- or fishmeal-containing feed. If possible, look for organic soy free feed. Alternatively, make your own organic feed so you can be in charge of what goes into their diets for maximum results resulting in healthy chickens producing organic eggs!
Environment
Everything that enters a farm as an external input leaves its own environmental footprint, including soy crops grown organically or conventionally, both of which require fossil fuels for transportation and most soy grown in the UK is genetically modified and treated with Glyphosate, both of which can have serious negative impacts on the environment.
This feed does not contain soy, its products or by-products; rather it uses organic canola meal and flax seed meal instead to ensure your chickens get all of the essential amino acids they require for proper development. Furthermore, this product has been Non-GMO Project Verified.
As part of the experiment, three groups of chickens will be fed soy and corn free rations designed by a poultry nutritionist. Each ration will consist of Certified Organic ingredients; weight and egg production of each group of hens will be monitored each week; groups A will receive conventional feed containing soy and corn; B receive organic commercial soy and corn feed while group C will consume their custom designed soy and corn-free diet designed by their nutritionist.
