Organic Feed Costs

The baby chicks aren't living in the brooder any more, but have taken up residence in the coop attached to my corn crib.  I'm not sure what breeds the boys are, but the little white roosters are the most bold and inquisitive.  They are eating a lot of chick starter as they grow, and I've been debating with myself about the advantages of feeding organic food.  So far, I've been buying the non-organic chick food, which costs around twelve dollars for a fifty pound bag.  The organic food costs twice as much for forty pound bag, and isn't always available at my Tractor Supply.  The more I read about the dangers of eating food that been exposed to glyphosate, the more I think I should spend the extra money to make sure the meat we are growing is healthy.  And that the manure I use in the garden is too.

Toxins bio-accumulate in animals, right?  So if they are eating a little poison in their food every day for the four to six months of their lives, then when we eat them, we are eating the poison too, only more concentrated.  Should I view those giant bags of feed I coax Brandon into carrying for me as giant bags of poison, which we will eventually eat in the concentrated form of chicken and broth.  

And what about all my beautiful eggs?  

My hens are free to eat all the organic grass and bugs they can find, but they get their share of toxin coated grains each day too.

I like to day dream about growing enough of my own grains to feed my flock and ensure the eggs we eat are as clean and healthy as possible, but until those dreams are reality, I have the option of buying organic chicken food.  It's not as easy to find, and it costs more than twice as much.  Can I afford it?  Can I afford not to afford it?