There has been alot of interest lately in using No-soy feed for raising chickens. This is a response to the over-use of soy in animal feed and other food products, possible hormonal effects of soy, concerns over the use of genetically modified soy seed, and difficulties in sourcing local soy (e.g. much of the organic soy used in the Pacific Northwest is sourced from China).
During the summer of 2009, utilizing the efforts of an enthusiastic intern, we conducted an informal trial to compare Soy vs. No-soy feed utilization among Cornish X (straight-run), Delaware (males), and Rhode Island Red (males). The No-soy feed was sourced from Union Point Feed using a 21% ration with peas as the primary protein source. We used a crumble (pelleted feed that has been mashed up a bit) so the birds could consume the entire ration (this formulation was derived based on the experiences of some growers reporting negative selection on the peas). The Soy-based feed was also sourced from Union Point Feed using their standard broiler mix.
All birds were raised on pasture in 10' x 10' mobile pens. Birds were weighed weekly and feed consumption was tallied weekly as well. At the end of the study we calculated feed conversion based on live weight and on finished weight (dressed bird).
Results Table
Not surprisingly, the Cornish X birds had the best feed conversion ration (lbs of feed per lb of gain) of all breeds. In addition, the Soy-fed Cornish X gained better than the Non-soy Cornish X, but only marginally. While the feed conversion ratios were greater (using more feed to gain weight) and time to finish was longer for the Delawares and Rhode Island Reds, it is interesting that these breeds actually had better feed conversion ratios on the No-soy feed.
Another interesting point in this particular study is that there was a far higher mortality in the Cornish X Soy-fed pen. Thus, while the feed conversion was optimized, our actual calculated profit on this batch was lower than the No-Soy pen due to the higher mortality. While this is not statistically significant, it would be worth looking at possible health effects of various feeds in pasture-based chicken trials.
We also had some issues with the Delaware pens, in that the birds developed a nasty habit of pecking each other. This was our first time raising Delawares and we don't know if this is common for the breed or not, when using males only in a pasture-based situation. The problem seemed to get worse the older the birds got.
It would be worthwhile to do additional work comparing more favorable pasture-based broilers in this type of study, icluding: Freedom Rangers (aka Red or Black Rangers), or La Belle Rouge. These birds finish slightly longer than Cornish X (9-11 weeks versus 8 for Cornish X) but do not take nearly as long as the Rhode Island Reds or Delawares (14-16 weeks).
13 comments:
Hey guys, that's great. I like the work, and I like the narrative part of it. It's well written.
We've had a number of pea-based formulas being tried, each a little different. They are doing better than the books say they should be. There are a couple of quirky little things we have found out that are important, and your feed has 'em. So you are right on the cutting edge.
Thanks for sharing the results--
Alice
alice@unionpoint.com
I am actively seeking any source for buying free range eggs from chickens that have NOT been fed soy. It's amazingly difficult and so far I have found absolutely no local source. If you know of any large grocery chain that might carry soy-free eggs, I'd sure be grateful for the info and thanks for doing the experiments you are doing. If it can be shown to be cost-effective to not use soy, maybe more people will stop using it. By the way, thank you even more for raising your chickens humanely.
I don't know of any in the big grocery chains. Most of the no-soy egg producers are small farms like us. We sell our eggs in Eugene & Portland at farmers markets mainly, not sure where you are located. Sometimes we ship them.
John thank you for posting this! - I've got my birds 'red rangers'
We have stopped giving our chickens soy, but I'm wondering if the soy was soaked with whey if it would neutralize the neg. effects. I think I read where if it is fermented it makes it better. Our chickens love when we give them fermented food. Taryn didn't like my last batch of sauerkraut (probably the added garlic and peppers and celery seed... I liked it but Taryn thought it stunk up the fridge. Chickens loved it.
Jeff, I'm fairly sure that would be true but I don't know for certain how this affects digestion. It would be great to study the affects of fermentation and/or sprouting on a range of beans.
I am looking for a feed with no soy in it for my free range turkeys. Something in the 21% protein range. It is really hard to find a feed without soy. We can mix our own feed or go into town to a mill that will mix it.But I need a formula to do it. I was wondering with fish meal, I could changes your feed formula to meet my turkey needs. I am feeding out 300 turkeys at about 2 pounds a feed per day.
If your formula not a secret could you share it with me or lead me to someone that can help me.
I have had cancer and have thryoid problems so soy is something I would like out of my diet.
Hi Oklahoma,
Our protein is at 18.5% with our current formulation. Fish meal (65%), Flax (25%), and Peas (24.5%) can bring it up but you don't want to go over 5% total ration on the flax or fish meal and over 30% on the peas. Hard to put your finger on any one formulation since much of the formulation is based on what is locally available. Some folks supplement beef liver (chopped) when they are young to boost the protein. I've found that between 4 weeks and finish one can get by with the lower protein as long as the birds are on pasture and especially if they follow tightly grazed cattle.
One more thing: you will want to get a copy of "Morrison's Feeds and Feeding" (easy to buy used on Amazon) if you don't already have it, which is an excellent resource for researching alternative feeds.
Hi thanks for you article. I am interested in raising roosters as i raise and sell baby chicks so have lots of roosters. Can you give me any input on that. Do you have a picture of your pastures pens thanks mark
Great post, thank you! Am raising my first batches of chickens (half Silver Laced Wyandottes and half Buff Orpingtons) and keets - 50 each. Just moved the chicks on pasture (5 weeks) and will move the French Guineas next week (at 3 weeks). Have been researching various feeds for heritage chickens, so this well-run experiment was really interesting to me. Am trying to eliminate GMO grains - have a feed w/ open pollinated corn, but haven't gotten past the soy problem here. Hard to find organic feed at any cost, the prices have pushed people back to conventional. Thanks so much for publishing this. Will get the book you recommended.
I see you tried this experiment in 2010. Has there been any followup?
HI Mary Lou,
We've been following up on this a few ways:
1) we have converted our entire pig program to no-soy with great success. The availability of fresh raw milk for piglets, pasture, and hazelnuts in addition to the grain ration is a great feed for hogs :)
2) we have been experimenting with milling our own feed for broilers with mixed success. If one is not careful with the no-soy broiler ration, it is easy to over-do the peas, or under-shoot the protein. This has led to somewhat smaller finished chickens and taking longer to grow out. At any rate, we have been doing some portion of broilers as entirely no-soy every year for customers who are interested.
3) Layers are on a certified organic diet, which still contains soy & corn (which are both certified non-GMO since they're organic). There are several issues here, including obtaining a reliable source of certified organic yellow peas and also issues on our end producing the proper consistence through our own mill.
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