Organic Diets for Small Poultry Flocks

Wheat - is one of the best cereal grains to feed to poultry and organic wheat is commonly available in Manitoba. It is a good source of starch for energy and moderate source of protein. Any variety of wheat, including hard red spring and durum, can be fed to birds, although some are slightly more digestible than others. Some shrunken or sprouted kernels can downgrade wheat for use in human foods but in many cases the feeding value of the wheat will remain acceptable for poultry.

Barley and Oats - can be used to replace half of the wheat included in the poultry diets listed in this factsheet. For example if a ration calls for 600 kg of wheat, you can use 300 kg of wheat and 300 kg of barley or 300 kg of wheat and 300 kg of oats as an acceptable alternative. Oats and barley are lower in energy and crude protein and higher in fibre than wheat but are still acceptable ingredients. Unless an enzyme is added to aid in the digestion of the sticky starches found in barley and oats, young birds may have a temporary diarrhea when these ingredients are first fed. Despite this problem, oats and barley can be fed at moderate levels to birds of any age. Be careful not to feed low bushel weight cereal grains - especially oats with a high proportion of hulls.

Roasted Soybean Seed - is a good source of protein and fat for poultry. Soybean seed contains a trypsin inhibitor that can severely interfere with digestion in a bird's gut and the seed must be heat treated to inactivate this compound. Roasting is a fairly common method of heat treating seed and roasted soybean seed has been used successfully in organic diets in Manitoba. The processing cost to produce roasted soybean seed is lower than for soybean meal. Roasted soybean seed is sometimes referred as being "full-fat" because the oil has not been extracted from the seed. Because of the high unsaturated fat content of the seed, feeding 20% or more soybean seed may produce a slight fishy taste in the poultry meat or eggs.

Soybean Meal - is the best protein source for chickens and turkeys. Unfortunately, organic soybean meal is very expensive because the seed must not only be grown organically but also be processed organically. In making the meal, the oil must be mechanically removed without the aid of the solvents used at most commercial soybean plants. The limited supply of organic soybean seed and the small number of organic soybean processors has served to increase the price of organic soybean meal to approximately four times that of regular soybean meal. Despite the cost, organic soybean meal may still be attractive, especially in turkey diets where high levels of protein are needed. Soybean meal can be included in the diets in this factsheet by removing the roasted soybean seed from the feed and adding back an amount of soybean meal equal to 80% of the formulated inclusion rate for soybean seed. As an example, in a roaster finisher diet containing 100 kg of roasted soybean seed, all of the soybean seed can be removed from the diet and replaced with 80 kg of soybean meal. Replacing the roasted soybean seed in this manner will reduce energy and modestly increase protein in the diets; the bird performance should be the same or better than the diet containing the roasted soybean seed. No soybean meal is produced in Manitoba and the cost of importing the meal can be high.

Peas - provide moderate levels of protein and starch for poultry. The protein level is much lower and quality more variable than soybean meal or roasted soybean seed. Peas are particularly low in methionine (a component of protein that is important for normal feathering and growth) and should not be used as the sole protein source for young birds. Peas, however, are readily grown in Manitoba and organic peas are sometimes available. Cull peas which are not suitable for the human market can be relatively economical for poultry.

Limestone - is the most common and economical source of calcium for bone development and shell quality.

Dicalcium phosphate - is one of the mineral phosphorous sources that is commonly used in organic diets. Because meat and bone meals are not allowed in organic diets, it is essential to provide a mineral source of phosphorous to promote good skeletal health. The mineral sources used in poultry diets have been acid treated to remove heavy metals that can be toxic to the birds. Untreated rock phosphates that are sometimes used as phosphorous fertilizers in organic crop production can be harmful to birds and should not used. The feeds in this factsheet have been formulated assuming that dicalcium phosphate contains 22% calcium and 18.5% phosphorous. Slight alterations in the amount included in the diet may be necessary depending on the actual calcium and phosphorous levels in the dicalcium phosphate.

Salt - is essential for growth, production and appetite in poultry. Nutritionally, common table salt is adequate as a feed ingredient but some organic producers do not like the iodine added to it. Non-iodized salt is sometimes used and kelp is added as an iodine source; care must be taken not to add too much kelp or the birds suffer from iodine toxicity.

DL Methionine - is a concentrated form of methionine, one of the important building blocks of protein needed by birds for growth, feathering and egg production. Because animal protein by-products cannot be used and organic soybean meal is very expensive, most organic poultry diets use some purified methionine. All of the diets presented in this factsheet contain DL Methionine; failure to add it to the diets will result in poor production, uneven flocks, and in severe cases, cannibalism.

Lysine HCl - is a concentrated form of lysine, another essential protein building block required by chickens and turkeys. The added lysine in the diets in this factsheet help to maintain normal production and are particularly important in the high protein diets needed by turkeys. Failure to add extra lysine to turkey diets can add weeks to the time needed for turkeys to reach market weight.

Vitamin-Mineral Premixes - provide a broader range and higher levels of vitamins and minerals than possible by using "old-fashioned" ingredients such as milk, green feed and fish oil. Indeed, many organic certifying organizations will not allow fish oils to be added to poultry diets even though they can be good sources of vitamins A and D. To see old style diets where no or few commercial vitamin sources were used, see the factsheet, "Poultry Rations and Feeding Methods", on the Manitoba Agriculture and Food web site. Use of a commercial vitamin-mineral mix is strongly recommended. Always follow the manufacturer's recommendation for the amount of vitamin-mineral premix to add to the feed. Some vitamin-mineral premixes contain iodine and will allow non-iodized salt to be used in the ration.

Enzyme Supplements - are mixtures of enzymes that have been produced by bacterial fermentation. These enzymes can assist the birds in digesting the sticky starch compounds found in oats, barley, and to a lesser degree, wheat. The enzymes help to reduce the variation in feeding value between different loads of a cereal grain. Some enzymes are specifically designed for use with an individual type of cereal grain such as barley while others will work well with a variety of cereal grains. These enzyme preparations are particularly beneficial in young birds because they have immature digestive tracts. The actual add rate of feed enzyme should be varied according to the manufacturer's recommendations.