4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[AJuff]

Pellets here have gone up by £4 a bag in the last 12 months.

 

I buy the organic pellets which are £3.50 dearer than non organic. Should I switch or stick to my principles and pay more?

[Hen Watch]

Should I switch or stick to my principles and pay more?

 

Ahh now can you put a price on your principles......!!!!

 

I bought non-organic ones as that was intially all I could get hold of and then after that just stuck with them. But even the non-org ones have gone up. April 07 I paid £5.25 for a sack of non-org, GM free, Doddson & Horrell pellets, April 08 they were £7.25 and I expect that will go up again.

[Reikiranf]

Just do what is right for you! Have you asked the girls what they think I've just bought more organic pellets but if the cost of living continues to rise perhaps next time I need pellets I may have to reconsider

[Olly]

I've just stuck with organic on principle ... but it doesn't mean the eggs are really organic, because the chooks eat s"Ooops, word censored!"s from non-organic veg, and although I don't use chemicals in the garden, it probably wouldn't meet Soil Association standards!

 

I don't know if there's ever been a test or comparison as to what is in the 'non-organic' pellets that is different to the organic ones.

[Gallina]

I am very lucky: my hens started off with non-organic pellets, because it was all I could get easily. Then when I was able to obtain a sack of organic ones, they wouldn't touch them. So they chose the cheap ones.

 

You may find that you have the same problem the other way round. Hens are very conservative.

[Egluntyne]

Mine prefer the cheap ones too.

 

The organic debate is massive. I saw a programme on the telly a while back where they spoke to a chap who farmed organically and he refused to vaccinate his hens as he reckoned that it rendered them not truly organic.

 

So if you follow his logic, and your hens have been vaccinated, then you may as well feed them the cheaper food.

 

The label on the pellets I use does at least say that the ingredients are obtained from non GM sources.

[ali-s]

My lot prefer the organic pellets which cost £13.25 a sack However at the moment they are having non GM pellets which cost £6.99

[StephanieSB]

Just do what is right for you!

 

I concur there. If you aren't selling your eggs, or selling them as "organic" eggs, then all you need to do is decide what works best for you and go for it.

 

I pay the extra for organic chicken feed, because our family decided that all eggs, milk, cheese we eat (basically, anything 'dairy' that is related to the hormonal workings of the animal involved) will always be organic, but we compromise on other food items because we simply cannot afford to buy everything organic. One of our principles is having a balanced budget each month and not going into debt!

 

You've just got to do what works for you!

[superjules]

I pay the extra for organic chicken feed, because our family decided that all eggs, milk, cheese we eat (basically, anything 'dairy' that is related to the hormonal workings of the animal involved) will always be organic, but we compromise on other food items because we simply cannot afford to buy everything organic. One of our principles is having a balanced budget each month and not going into debt!

 

You've just got to do what works for you!

 

Well said Steph! Since having the kids, we've always bought organic dairy too, although it's not worth going into debt to become totally organic!

[Egluntyne]

If you aren't selling your eggs, or selling them as "organic" eggs, then all you need to do is decide what works best for you and go for it.

 

I pay the extra for organic chicken feed, because our family decided that all eggs, milk, cheese we eat (basically, anything 'dairy' that is related to the hormonal workings of the animal involved) will always be organic, but we compromise on other food items because we simply cannot afford to buy everything organic. One of our principles is having a balanced budget each month and not going into debt!

 

You've just got to do what works for you!

 

Well said. Same here.

[chickencam]

We bought the organic pellets last time because it was all that we could get, we have been feeding them mixed with the non organic Allen & Paige ones because they won't touch the organic ones otherwise.

 

When we got the girls we had to switch to the non organic pellets very quickly because they wouldn't eat the organic ones.

[Valkyrie]

We try to do organic as much as possible - but that doesn't mean to say we are totally organic, sometimes you just can't get organic stuff when you want it. I think the same would apply to the birds. We give ours organic feed, because I do buy organic eggs. However, if they munch a worm that has travelled from neighbouring gardens that are non-organic, then there's nothing I can do about it. My garden is organic and has been that way for 16 years - we would probably pass the Soil Association standard now, although I have no idea what is in the rainwater that we collect to water the plants with! So far the feed I have bought is £12.99, but I will take Egg Lou up on her offer of getting it next time - it is only a few pence cheaper at the moment, but I expect it will go up soon - if it hasn't already. The next step would be to have feed that is GM free, and that would be our bottom line whatever the cost - and cut down on other things to compensate.

[Cyber Chook]

It's great to read what everyone has to say on this interesting topic, and I agree with a lot of it. I'm going to get all serious now:

 

I was always quite interested in and respected organic ways of farming and producing food, but used to buy organic if a) the bank statement looked healthier than usual, b) if I remembered, or c), was feeling particularly health-conscious at that moment. Probably like a lot of people I muddled my way through.

 

Then 2 years ago, my life was turned upside down with a diagnosis of hormone-dependent breast cancer. This means basically that the particular cancer I had was 'fed' by oestrogen and progesterone. So, as you can imagine, I've taken the whole healthy eating thing a lot more seriously since then. For example, I mostly avoid buying chicken other than organic free-range, which is incredibly expensive, but we only have it occasionally. Apparently 'ordinary' chicken contains high levels of these hormones, and it puts me off eating it to think that it might affect my chances of developing cancer again.

 

I've stuck with feeding my chooks organic pellets. It is obviously more expensive, but so far we're managing. I know sometimes we just don't have the money and that's that. When I'd be feeling a bit pale at the cost of organic food and saying "But I can't afford to buy organic", people have replied, can you afford not to? Obviously, for me, avoiding all unnecessary extra hormones perhaps feels extra important, but I do worry about what is causing this huge increase in cancers and what we are exposed to in modern environments.

 

The End!!

 

Caroline

[StephanieSB]

... a diagnosis of hormone-dependent breast cancer. This means basically that the particular cancer I had was 'fed' by oestrogen and progesterone.... Apparently 'ordinary' chicken contains high levels of these hormones, and it puts me off eating it to think that it might affect my chances of developing cancer again.

 

Well, Caroline, you certainly have your organic-eating priorities straight then! What a story. Yes, of course, we all must be honest with ourselves about what we eat and realise that the standard table bird has a lot it in that could affect our health negatively. Got a couple of sciency types in my family who are always pointing out that most people will never and could never react negatively or develop poor health from eating non-organic or GM foods -- but they acknowlege that if you have a propensity for some form of illness or health issue, then there's no point not playing it safe and eating 'clean', unstressed animals.

 

You certainly have a fantastic motivation for sticking to organic. Good on you and my best to you as you keep yourself healthy!

[chelsea]

we were on non organic for about 18 months. Then changed over to organic 6 months ago and they prefer organic - a lot more consumed from the grub, better for us as we dont throw so much away.

[Egluntyne]

Very interesting to hear your view point Cyber Chook.

 

Best wished for your contnued good health.

[Clur]

I always buy the organic pellets - lots (if not all???) of the non-organic come with a petroleum deriviative in the ingredients

[Egluntyne]

 

Here is the menu at Egluntine Towers.

 

Sounds delicious I'm sure you will agree.

 

The hens wolf them down so they must taste OK.

[Olly]

I've never looked at the label on my bag of pellets! What's a bakery by-product? Crumbs?

 

Cyber Chook, I can see why you are focused on buying organic food - I hope your recovery continues. For me, organic has two benefits - one is that I like to think that I'm eating food that doesn't have too many chemicals in it, but the other benefit is to the environment as a whole. Stuff that's been grown organically, whether it's human or chicken-food, has been grown in a way that has not contributed to the destruction of wildlife (flora and fauna) and the pollution of land and watercourses. I'm becoming more and more conscious of the effect we all have on the land we live on. No, I don't buy 100% organic - can't afford it and it would be very limiting - but I buy as much as I can.

[Egluntyne]

I've never looked at the label on my bag of pellets! What's a bakery by-product? Crumbs?

 

I was assuming it would be Lemon Drizzle Cake!

[Valkyrie]

[Shirl]

I feed only organic pellets and I only feed them organic s"Ooops, word censored!"s but very little of our food isn't organic which probably explains our high food bills I choose organic because I want to be sure what my children are eating is as organic as possible.

[Valkyrie]

Shirl:

"I choose organic because I want to be sure what my children are eating is as organic as possible."

 

That's what we tried to do with our children - now the oldest is 18 and putting the most dreadful processed "meat" things in the microwave. Some sort of burger in a bun and it smells awful. He buys it, I don't even go down those aisles in the supermarkets. DD (16) went potty over Pot Noodles for a while, and Pop Tarts - gross . Still, as long as we gave them the good stuff while we could, we can do no more, the rest is up to them.

[Egluntyne]

That's what we tried to do with our children - now the oldest is 18 and putting the most dreadful processed "meat" things in the microwave. Some sort of burger in a bun and it smells awful. He buys it, I don't even go down those aisles in the supermarkets. DD (16) went potty over Pot Noodles for a while, and Pop Tarts - gross . Still, as long as we gave them the good stuff while we could, we can do no more, the rest is up to them.

That is all so familiar Koojie.

[Cooks]

I use the small holder pellets as they seem to be very popular so far with my girls, and they have no additives or yolk pigment.