There Are NO Cats in America…
Or…“The Great Feed Debate”
The search for a “corn-free, soy-free, gluten-free, fish- or animal-product-free poultry feed.”
If you’re a homeschooler, your top question is, “But What About Socialization?”
If you’re a chicken lady, your top question (after “Do You Need A Rooster To Get Eggs?”) is “But Do They Eat FEED?”
For many of you, this is a non-issue. You love our chicken, you’re happy knowing we source non-GMO feed locally from an organically-certified farmer, you’ve seen our process and know the love and care that goes into raising these birds…so maybe this blog isn’t for you.
But for others of you, for those concerned with how animals are fed “in the industry,” for those whose children face auto-immune diseases, or for those simply unfamiliar with the dietary needs of poultry, this is a legitimate question. Why do people have so many gut issues when they drink industrial milk and eat industrial beef? (In part it’s because we feed corn and grain to cows.) Why is pork from the grocery store so darned squishy? (Because of the pathetic quality of their feed...after all, pigs will eat slop, so let’s feed it to ‘em!) The dominating thought of industrial food seems to be “What is the CHEAPEST possible thing I can use to grow these animals the FASTEST to get them to market?” So we end up with Mad Cow disease because we feed dead cows to cows! After all, it solves the environmental problem of too many dead cows. Right? Yikes. No wonder you’re concerned!
But did you ever watch the movie “An American Tail”? I saw it as a kid, and what I remember most is the song Fievel’s father sang as they dreamed of leaving their home in Russia for a better life in America:
“There are NO CATS in America,
and the streets are paved with cheese.
Oh, there are NO CATS in America…”
It was a nice idea…but it was a delusion. That song expresses how I feel when I consider the unreality of feeding broiler chickens without feed.
I mean, in an ideal world, chickens would eat “all of the above",”… but it wouldn’t be in “feed form,” since they’d be free-ranging and finding those things for themselves, which would make it all okay. (And by the way, they would be tough, stringy old birds!) But we can’t DO totally free-range in its truest definition, because the weasels and the hawks and the “sweet-neighbor-dogs-who-just-would-NEVER-chase-a-chicken-😡” like a good chicken dinner as much as we do!
What to do? Because it turns out this is the real world, folks, there ARE cats in America, and even pastured chickens need more than just grass.
So when I’m asked, “Do they eat feed…grain…corn…???” My answer is, “I sure hope so.”
“But wait,” you ask. “I’m allergic to wheat…corn…soy…barley…gluten…
And isn’t soy BAD for you?”
Well, maybe. For YOU. But then why is it then that even my
· gluten-intolerant,
· soy-intolerant,
· CHICKEN-INTOLERANT (yes, you read that right), and
· practically-everything-else-intolerant friends
…can eat my chicken?
Intrigued? Read on.
First, let’s talk cows, because they illustrate this perfectly: Why should cows eat grass instead of meat and grain? Because cows are herbivores. They are made to eat GRASS. Their systems are perfectly designed to take GRASS, which we can’t eat, and turn it into delicious meat and raw milk, to nourish our children and heal our bodies.
Now let’s talk chicken. I know you can go to the grocery store and buy “Vegetarian eggs.” (Poor hens. Not on my watch!) The “feed guru” Jeff Mattocks of the American Pastured Poultry Producers Association, who has been studying animal feed for over 30 years, said, “My favorite ask is ‘I want a corn free, soy free, gluten free, fish or animal product free poultry feed.’ My response is ‘Don’t buy chickens! They will have no quality of life if they even live more than a week.’” Preach it, Jeff.
Here's the point. Chickens are omnivores. I say it again: CHICKENS ARE OMNIVORES!!!
God created them to eat nearly everything, to turn even things we CAN’T eat into delicious meat and fresh eggs, to nourish our children and heal our bodies. Are there things chickens won’t eat? Sure. There are certain weeds and other things they don’t like, but realize that God gave animals a survival instinct that usually keeps them from eating what they shouldn’t, unless it is all that is available to them. I remember making something years ago that was supposed to be “healthy.” But the more I looked at the ingredients, the more I doubted I wanted to put it in my body. Just because it comes from the health food store doesn’t mean it’s food the way God made it. So I threw it to my chickens to see what happened, and they wouldn’t touch it. Amazing.
But what about soy?
That’s the big one these days. And I’m with you…I do what I can to avoid grocery store products containing soy. But the problem with most products containing soy IS NOT SOY ITSELF! Soy is NOT the Big, Bad Wolf. Soy is simply a legume. Peas are legumes. Green beans are legumes. The problem with modern soy is that we “GMO-itize” it and then break it apart into separate pieces and try to consume it that way.
It’s like drinking skim milk without the cream to help you process it – did you know farmers fatten pigs on SKIM MILK? That’s because skim milk is fattening! (But that’s another soapbox for another time.) It’s why garden-fresh corn on the cob is wonderful and high fructose corn syrup is deadly. The point is that when we “put asunder what God hath joined together,” we run into problems. Think whole grain vs. all-purpose flour. Use the whole grain the way God created it, and you’ve got yourself some top-notch nutrition. Sift out the germ and the nutrients so you have a silky white flour, and you just bought yourself a diabetes diagnosis.
And those tests on soy? Most soy tests are performed on soy MEAL. The oil was taken out, so how COULD the body properly process it? And of course the amounts used in the tests are over and above what anybody - or any chicken - would normally consume anyway. All things in moderation; you eat too much of ANYTHING, and you’ll run into trouble.
But then, there is that estrogen issue. Legumes (like soy) can produce high estrogen levels. But you want to know something funny? Our chickens are pastured, and we talk a lot about the grass. Maybe I should define “grass” for our context. “Grass” isn’t just what you see in a nicely-manicured lawn. Oh, they’re eating those blades, for sure. But look closely. There’s plantain…and dandelion…and vetch…and clover…and self-heal.
Wait. Back up. Did I just say clover? I did! And do you know what a chicken’s favorite food is, what she eats first? Clover. And do you know what gives a chicken high estrogen levels – even higher than the dreaded soy? Clover.
Folks, maybe a chicken OUGHT to have high estrogen. Just because I don’t need it, doesn’t mean she doesn’t. This is like when I was pregnant with Brendan and the life insurance company made me pay extra for my premium because I had “high” cholesterol. Never mind that a pregnant woman OUGHT to have high cholesterol. Never mind that if I had had LOW cholesterol my baby would have been in danger. Oh, no. High cholesterol is bad, bad, bad, in every circumstance. And high estrogen, too, apparently.
What did God create a chicken to eat? Bugs. Grass. Bugs. Clover. Bugs. Seeds/grains. Bugs. Meat. (You don’t think she eats meat? Just ask the frog that accidentally hopped across her path.🐸 Oops. Can’t ask the frog. He got eaten.😁)
So do our chickens eat feed? They sure do. Locally-raised, non-GMO, organically certified feed. It’s good stuff, folks, a wide variety of grains and legumes and kelp and probiotics, blended and balanced for the digestion of a chicken…which takes that feed and turns it into meat and eggs to nourish our children and heal our bodies. It’s the best I know of. Because quality matters.
I think it’s pretty perfect. But what if it’s not?
Well, that’s the beauty of the grass. Trust the grass. It’s God’s Roto-Rooter. Chlorophyll is a marvelous detoxifier and covers a multitude of sins. TRUST THE GRASS! And what is OUR definition of grass pasturing? Moving them onto fresh grass, a fresh salad bar…
Every. Single. Day.
Got questions? I’m always happy to talk chicken!
Your Local Chicken Lady,
Jennifer Collins
Call ort Text: 810-384-8177
jennifer@TheCollinsCluckery.com
P.S. If this blog post helped you, forward it to a friend!
Resources: ..\..\..\..\Downloads\Soy vs No Soy Broiler Field Trial Handout.pdf
Pastured Poultry Profits by Joel Salatin, 2018 edition, p. 376-379, 404