http://ca.news.yahoo.com/010430/5/4m4e.html

I must admit, I'm not entirely clear on what chickens would eat left to
their own devices. Are they naturally grain-eaters? I assume they naturally
tend to eat only plant-based foods. (I know there's a woman on this list--
Laurie?-- who raises chickens, so I'm sure she'll know if no one else
does.)

I'm extremely allergic to grains, to the point that I am sensitive to it in
the animal products I eat. (And it's not easy to get grass-fed meat where I
live.) In the case of poultry, I buy hormone-free, additive-free,
free-range chicken, and different brands of certified organic eggs. The egg
packages usually advertise that the chickens are fed flax seed, which seems
fine, but also trumpet the fact that the hens are fed canola oil (something
I'd rather not ingest), as well as "a special diet of all-natural
organically grown grains free of pesticides, herbicides, preservatives,
medications, hormones and antibiotics." I would love to be able to get
poultry meat and eggs from animals that are fed only vegetable matter, and
no grain, if indeed that's a feasible diet for chickens.

Deborah