Raising chickens can be a wonderful experience. We love our girls. They all have names and they will be “Ladies of Leisure” long after they have finished laying. And raising chickens yourself can alleviate many of the cruelty issues associated with egg production, provided your chooks are getting to roam freely (at least part of the time).
But even then, there are some difficult questions to be answered. For me, one of most challenging questions has been “what do I feed my chickens?”
When I first got the chickens, I did a lot of research into raising them vegetarian and organic. But the reality is that it is exceptionally difficult to do this. To raise them organic, you need to source a comprehensive range of organic grains and mix the feed yourself. You probably have to do that by going to an organic supermarket, and there isn’t one of those for less than two and a half hours drive from here. Of course, then all the kitchen scraps would also have to be certified organic, and the ground they walk on (and the grass they eat) would also have to be certified organic. When you start looking at it this way, you can see why certified organic eggs cost so much to buy!
So having given up sourcing each individual grain and vitamin supplement yourself, you’re then left with pre-mixed feeds. And this is where raising your chickens vegetarian becomes tricky.
Almost all pre-mixed mash and layer pellets contain restricted animal protein (RAM). If you check the ingredients on the back of the bag of feed, they’ll refer to this as “protein meal”. If you go to the website, they may refer to it as “meat meal”. But I have not found one that specifies exactly what type of meat is in the RAM. But it was feeding RAM to cattle that caused the Mad Cow Disease outbreak in the UK. (Cattle were fed infected sheep’s brains.)
What we do know is that RAM is made up of other animals, including bones, blood, feathers and placental tissues. From what animals? It definitely includes chicken (male chicks are minced just after birth) and fish, but if I had to extrapolate I would also say mammals such as sheep and cattle (and maybe horses?).
I have been feeding my chickens grains, but they leave half of it behind and have lost some feathers and looking a bit shabby. I do believe they aren’t getting enough protein and that a layer pellet would probably help this. Chickens need protein. And if given the right opportunities, will source it from worms, bugs, moths etc. I have no problem eating eggs from chickens that have been eating worms, bugs and moths because that is part of their natural diet. I certainly DO have a problem eating eggs from chickens that have been fed RAM.
And if you’re eating eggs off the shelf in a supermarket or out of restaurants, then you are eating RAM.
Sadly, buying “vegetarian” eggs won’t help you avoid the cruelty done to chickens in the mass production of eggs. They are most likely still cage chickens that are simply fed vegetarian food. And they are all killed at the end of their laying life.
I am not saying all of this to shame you, guilt you or upset you. I am saying this to allow you to be aware and to be a conscious eater. Know what you’re eating. Then love it or leave it, the choice is yours. But know what it is.
Meanwhile, I am still searching for vegetarian layer pellets and I will get it shipped from interstate if I have to. If you own chickens and want to do the same, go and see your local produce and ask them to stock vegetarian pellets. If enough people do it then they will have to listen.
