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The Bird Flu is being over-reported and too vaguely reported, causing a global hysteria. Valuable, genetically unique and irreplacable poultry is being destroyed en masse, without conclusive testing. The German national army is assaulting and wiping out small poultry farms (and now, massacering carrier-pigeons, too, though the owners can prove that bird flu is not found in pigeons at all!)
Watch out, people!
"Official" hysteria is the worst kind.
If there really is a Bird Flu, Chicken-Feed will be eager to post the details. But first, we need "the facts, Ma'am." We are not going to add fuel to the fire by saying that a bunch of dead birds were found somewhere with "H5N1" in them. If someone with authority stands up and reveals in full reporting that is not oversimplified, just how we know that there is a Bird Flu, and not an hysteria, then Chicken-Feed will post that information right here.
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Professional chefs and professional butchers who live in large cities, have told me that chickens cannot possibly eat grass. Farmers in the country, who raise chickens naturally, have a hearty good laugh on this one! One of them even went out and butchered one of his pastured chickens and emailed me a picture of its gizzard ~~~ full of grass.
Chickens will consume 30% of their calories from grass, if allowed to truly "free range." Since grass is very low in calories, that's a whole LOT of grass! Another thing chickens need is animal protein. Chickens are omnivores, just like the humans they've kept company with for all these millennia.
The new "all vegetarian" chicken is a convenience to the mass-producer, who thus doesn't have to worry about the potential of latent animal diseases in poultry feed. Mass-producers of poultry are certainly leery of disease, which might bring about the destruction of their entire laying flock.
But, strictly vegetarian-fed chickens are potentially undernourished. An all-vegetarian diet is not natural for them ~ they need animal protein. The ideal is for a chicken to be free to roam grasslands that are not denuded by too many animals in one place, finding myriad bugs and eating lots of wild plants. If supplemented with grains, and especially with fish meal, these chickens will be the healthiest around, and live and lay eggs for many, many years.
Chickens that are free to consume as much living grass as they want, along with the myriad other living things in a natural grassland or meadow, give significant health benefits to the consumer today, just as this poultry diet has done for the thousands of years of domestication of the chicken. Meat and eggs from grass-fed poultry, which is very low in fat, have high levels of Omega-3 fatty acids. Eggs from "pastured" (another form of "grass-fed") poultry, high in omega-3 fatty acids, will lower one's "bad cholesterol" and raise the "good cholesterol." More and more consensus is emerging that grass-fed or pastured poultry eggs are good for the heart, and that not only should they not be avoided, they should be specifically included in the diet.
There are two main kinds of fatty acids, omega-3 and omega-6. We need approximately equal amounts of the o-3's and the o-6's in our bodies. But, because of not allowing our feed animals to eat grass (even cows don't eat much grass any more ~ they eat mostly corn), we are getting huge proportions of omega-6 fatty acids, and very little omega-3.
When we get top-heavy on omega-6, our "bad cholesterol" rises, and our "good cholesterol" stays low. When we get goodly amounts of omega-3's as opposed to omega-6's, the good cholesterol rises and the bad cholesterol drops.
Bad cholesterol, which is found in big droplets, goes through the blood stream and plugs up the arteries, making for quadruple bypasses and deadly heart attacks. Good cholesterol goes through the blood stream in very tiny droplets, coated with protein "bristles" whichact like millions of tiny brushes that scour out the arteries, opening up the clogged plumbing that is causing the mass epidemic of heart disease in "developed" countries. Strange to think that by eating beef and drinking whole milk, 100% grass-fed beef and milk, you can go far toward reversing your heart disease and restoring heart health.
Also effective heart-health builders are all forms of wild (not farmed) seafood. Why not farmed? Because farmed fish are fed corn, which is, for the first time in the history of the world, putting omega-6 fatty acids into the ocean's food chains, where they've never been before. Pretty soon, farmed fish might be causing heart disease, just as corn-fed beef has done all these decades of our "advanced" farming methods.
You see, omega-3's come from the fat in the green parts of plants, while omega-6's come from the seeds of plants. The entire food chain of the ocean is based on plankton, which is the "grasss" of the sea. Plankton has no seeds, so there have not been any omega-6 fatty acids in ocean fish. At least, not until we started adding corn to the farmed fish diet. We have always known that people who raise cattle in the traditional manner, 100% grass-fed, have great heart health, and have the cleanest of arteries. The amount of omega-3 in green plants is very small; the cattle and other ruminants, which eat huge quantities of grass, concentrate the omega-3 in their systems, imparting it to us when we consume the meat and milk.
Click to read more on Omega-3's at Chicken-Feed
Click to read more on Omega-3's at Eatwild.com
Jo Robinson, author of the EatWild website, and the fabulous book,
Why Grass-Fed Is Best!, describes one study where 23 people ate 2 more eggs than they usually did every day. The study only lasted 18 days. One group ate eggs enriched with Omega-3's; the other ate regular commercial eggs. Among those who added the Omega-3 eggs to their diet, their good cholesterol went up, their bad cholesterol went down, and their total cholesterol count did not change. Not so for those who ate the ordinary commerical eggs; their cholesterol levels went up. Robinson's report, I think, was kind to the commercial egg farmers ~ she did not say specifically that the bad cholesterol went up by adding 2 commercial eggs a day to one's diet. She just says that the total cholesterol count went up. One must find and read the study for onesself to learn the whole truth of it, but it my guess is, the bad cholesterol went up ~ after all, we've known for years that "eggs raise cholesterol levels." What we haven't known until the last few years is that eggs, from properly-fed chickens, also lowers the cholesterol ~ the "bad cholesterol."
Please, you owe it to yourself and your loved ones to find out about grass-fed poultry and omega-3-rich eggs. We will put as much information up as we can possibly fit onto our Pastured Poultry Page --- please visit often. Above all, get a copy of
Why Grass-Fed Is Best!
Introduction
The basics of what chickens need to eat, and how you can easily give it to them
Feed Recipes
Blend some or all of your own chicken feed, whether you're a beginner hobbyist, or commercial grower. Recipes supplied to ChickenFeed by America's leading, health-oriented, poultry nutritionists.
Protein Calculation
Protein is discussed. How to prepare soybeans is described. A simple, well-known "calculator" for blending feed for correct protein amounts is given, along with a table of the protein content of several feeds.
Feeding Instructions
Detailed instructions on feeding poultry, excerpted from a 1979 book, The Family Poultry Flock (Edited by Lee Schwanz, Farmer's Digest, Inc.) These are standardized instructions in the commercial format, useful for getting started.
Feeding Baby Chicks
Want to start from Day One, to raise the healthiest possible chicks? Here are chick-feed formulas from the farm kitchens of 1912.
Feed Producers
This is an informational website only. But our Feed Producers may well be able to supply your needs. Please go to the Feed Producers page if you are looking to buy or sell Chicken Feed products. Alternatively, you may ask hundreds of professional chicken farmers anything under the sun if you join a chicken-oriented group in YahooGroups. The PasturePoultry and the ChickenFeed groups are especially helpful for feed information (note: copy these names exactly when searching at YahooGroups :-)
Feed Producers is a list (continually updated here at ChickenFeed) of producers of natural, "biological" and/or organic chicken feeds and feed supplements
Online Experts
The cream of the crop, in ChickenFeed's opinion. People who come through on questions about nutrition of poultry, sources of farm and poultry products, services and information, practical advice, and anything we haven't thought of yet!
Pastured Poultry
Move the flock across their food ~~~ open grassland ~~~ instead of bringing the food to them. Creates amazing health and quality, besides creating extremely fertile acreage wherever the "chicken tractor" is moved.
Farms Selling Eggs
Farms around the country that sell REAL eggs, and other nutritous things. See pictures, phone them with questions, and best of all, if you find some in your State, visit and buy.
Worms for Feed
Mix your garbage and leaves to make pounds of top-quality protein, as fresh as it gets, too. Farmers everywhere are saying,
"Why didn't we start this long ago?"
Labels
List of what's in commercial feeds, according to the label
About Nutrition
We all have a choice between getting by with mediocre health, or creating optimum health. This section is for those pursuing the optimum for themselves, their families and their farms.
Abstracts
Research about poultry, from the US Department of Agriculture. Easy to search; tons of info
Feed Topics
Everything about chicken feed and feeding chickens found in print: websites, newsgroups, hard-copy articles, even emails.
Posts
Some well-written email posts to discussion groups on the topic of chickens and their feed
Links
Join ChickenFeed at Yahoo!Groups
Click here for detailed instructions on how to join.
Yahoo!Groups is unique in the world of discussion groups. Unlike Newsgroups, where everything you post is searchable by Google, groups in Yahoo! are private, with only the members able to read the posts. Send an email to your group, and it is instantly sent to all members of that group. Boot up your computer, and there are some emails from other people around the world who are discussing the feeding of chickens. Answer if you like, or just read the discussion. Totally free ~~ no charge.
Click here to go straight to Yahoo!Groups.
National Agricultural Library
Search the entire United States National Agricultural Library at this site. Incredibly informative.
Virginia Co-op Extension
One of the most active and informative university sites covering the nutrition of chickens.
American Health & Nutrition
"Your Worldwide Resource Center for Certified Organic Commodities!"
California Certified Organic Farmers
Complete list of organic farmers in California, with their products, locations, and email info on many.
Organic Trade Association
The "horse's mouth" on organic regulations and issues.
Related Directories
Pages of links to sites of general poultry interest.
USDA Foods Composition
Search for any food, and receive a complete analysis of its protein and all other known ingredients.
Murray McMurray Hatchery
Murray McMurray Hatchery is the oldest and largest rare breed poultry hatchery in the United States. You are just a click away from the wonderful world of exotic poultry and their many other fine products.
Farmbid
Other online newspapers make the whole world look urban.
This one shows that it isn't. THE online news for people who farm.
Today's Weather
National Oceanographic and Aeronautic Administration (NOAA) brings the clearest satellite photos and most accurate weather reports. Searchable by city or zip code.
WebStuff
New WebSurfer?
Simple how-to's on things that take months or even years to figure out alone.
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News
Why Grass-Fed Is Best! from Eatwild.com
Organic Pastures 100% Grass-Fed Dairy, Fresno, California
Radio Interview on Pastured Dairying
Canadian Pastured Cow Movement
Restaurant Grease in Feeds?
Stylo Leaf Meal, China, Africa, and India
Definitions
Types of Feed
Broiler: feed blend for chickens that are growing as fast as possible, in order to be harvested for meat as early as possible
Crumbles: pellets broken up into smaller pieces
Grower: approximately the same as "Starter"
Layer: feed blend for chickens that are laying eggs, having extra calcium and protein added
Mash: a blend of several feed ingredients, ground to a small size but not to a powder
Pellets: small kernels of compressed mash, causing birds to eat the whole blend, not pick and choose
Scratch: whole grains fed separately to chickens, usually scattered on the ground or litter of the coop; usually a mixture of grains, such as wheat, rye, oats, etc. (corn/maize must be cracked before using as scratch grain)
Starter: a blend of feed for chicks and growing birds, usually in the form of mash; approximately the same as "Grower"; can be replaced with "adult" food as soon as chicks go for it, somewhere between 4 and 8 weeks of age
Feed Ingredients
Amino acid: a molecule that is one building block of protein; there are many different amino acids, most of which can be manufactured in the body; the few that cannot must be supplied by foods, and are called "Essential Amino Acids"; a food that supplies all 8 essential amino acids is called "complete"
Bran: the outer coating of a kernel of grain; extremely high in silicon, which slows down its decomposing in the soil; cheap by-product of milling, often given away free by large mills
Calcium: provided by sea shells, crushed bone, and fresh or dried greens --- amounts need to be measured closely, if not free range; must be provided in higher quantities as soon as chickens begin to lay eggs
Concentrate: a blend of protein-rich foods, plus any other nutrients desired; usually fed together with a grain ration
Corn: American term meaning maize corn, or "corn on the cob" (in England "corn" means what grain means in the US, that is, all food grains)
Element: a substance made up on just one kind of atom; there are 100 or so kinds of atoms in the universe; each kind of atom has its own unique characteristics; usually, these atoms are not stable by themselves, and must combine with each other, or with other types of atoms, to form stable molecules (see "Trace elements")
Germ: the embryo plant inside a kernel of grain; very nutritious and high in protein; wheat and rice germ (also called "rice polish") are a saleable by-product of milling
Grain: American term meaning any small, hard seeds, especially grass-family seeds (called corn in England); provides energy, B vitamins, phosphorus, and the whole grains are a fair source of protein, too
Grit: angular, hard crushed rock, preferably from granite, used by the chickens in place of "teeth" --- seashells and bone CANNOT substitute for grit; for confinded birds, grit should be offered several times a month at least; it should be of the right size for the age of the bird (see Baby Chicks page); birds allowed to free range don't need to be offered grit -- they find their own ideal sizes and types to suit themselves
Kelp: sea-weed, plants that grow in the sea; contains all the minerals of the earth; all kelp is edible, and can easily be dried and fed to chickens by clipping a sheaf of it to something in their area (also, this replaces any need to add salt to their rations)
Middlings: an old milling term for the parts of the kernel that are milled off with the germ, and probably contain both the starch and bran (please email me if you have more specific information :-)
Minerals: non-life-created chemicals, in molecular form, found in nature; actually, "minerals" is a broad category of compounds usually thought of as originating in the earth --- the term "elements" or "trace elements" is more exact; minerals and vitamins can be added to dietary regimens to improve health; sea water contains all the minerals of the earth, in their natural forms and safe amounts; "trace minerals" are those needed in relatively very tiny amounts, and can be highly toxic if these amounts are exceeded; "macro-minerals" are those needed in large amounts, such as calcium, phosphorous, and magnesium
Protein: any food high in amino acids, used to build tissues; protein quality is determined by the "completeness" of the amino acid varieties in the food source; all meats, eggs of all kinds, milk, cheese, nuts, seed germs, and soy beans are high protein sources
Trace elements: the rare kinds of elements that the body may need in infinitesimally small amounts to do very specialized things that science may not have discovered yet; sea water, and kelp, contain all the elements on Earth, and thus is a good source of trace elements (see "Elements")
Vitamin: an old, general term meaning "life-giving"; a chemical found in nature or made by man to imitate natural ones; new vitamins, and new uses for known vitamins, are always being discovered
Methods of Raising Poultry
Cage-free: This just means the chickens are not in cages; they may be in barns that they never leave (even though there might be a little door at one end; chickens don't go out of their field of vision for food, or even for water); or they may be in large open fenced bare-dirt yards that the chickens have stripped long ago of all vegetation
Fenceless free-range: No barriers, physical or functional, separate the chickens' living and nesting quarters from access to real pasture AND the chickens actually go out on this pasture to feed as much as they desire
Free-range: The public thinks, or hopes, that this means chickens which are out in the grassland around a real farm; actually, it's a rather meaningless term, since it is often abused by unscrupulous poultry operations that "convert" to "free range" by putting a tiny door in huge commercial poultry barns, then claiming that the chickens have "access" to the out of doors. To legally qualify to use the term, chickens need only have a small patch of dirt to be on instead of a cage; the term legally does not require any "range" diet at all. In actual practice, since the public believes in this term, really good grass-ranged poultry is sometimes labelled "Free Range" simply because the retailer chooses this term over the cumbersome "pastured poultry" term. We propose that the term "Grass-Ranged" be adopted to indicate limitless and close access to real, living grassland resulting in actual free-choice consumption of grasses and associated plants and animals.
Grass-ranged: able to roam around to choose and eat fresh greens, primarily grass but including all the vast variety of natural pastureland plants and insects without limitation; two grass-range methods of poultry raising are "pastured poultry", and "fenceless free range"
Organic: organic food sources must not contain traces of harmful chemicals; the term does not insure that poultry has been raised in the best possible way, with unlimited supply of living grass, but only that the poultry has near zero harmful artificial chemicals
Pastured poultry: poultry kept in movable, floorless pens, moved daily over fresh range pasture; the pens, called "chicken tractors", also contain waterers and grain-feeders; unlike ruminants, chickens need a certain amount of grain along with their grass; if allowed free access to grass, chickens will consume up to 30% of their calories in grass and green plants; pasturing creates the very healthiest chicken meat and eggs (and creates very fertile pastureland, too)
Range: "An open region over which livestock may roam and feed" --- land having enough living, growing grasses, plus a complement of legumes and other plants and perhaps insects and small animals to support livestock of various kinds, including poultry
Types of Chickens
Bantam: a miniaturized chicken of any breed; most breeds have a regular-size and a bantam variety
Banty: same as Bantam
Cockerels: male baby chicks; male young domestic fowl
Hens: female chickens in their second year of lay, or after their first moult
Layers: chickens raised to be egg-layers
Layer-Broiler: chickens raised to be both egg-layer and to be eaten
Meat birds: old term for broilers
Pullets: female chickens in their first year of lay, or prior to their first moult; female baby chicks
Rooster: adult male chicken, or adult male of other domestic or non-domestic fowl
Straight Run: a random mixture of male and female baby chicks, usually less expensive than only pullets
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