can a chicken who eats gluten producing gluten free egg?

U_Stormcrow said:

I am *NOT* a Dr. either. Or a lawyer. But next time you wander by the seafood display where you normally do your buying, look at the sources for the mussels and the crab. Guessing Alaska/extreme north west coast of the US. US harvested oysters are generally the "Eastern" variety, from either the Gulf of Mexico or the stretch between MA and NY. (Western oysters are harvested and highly valued by some - smaller, "sweeter", less salty - but also in lower numbers - mostly coming out of Washington). The shrimp in your store could come from, well, pretty much anywhere.

If the mussels and the crab are coming from the same area, your culprit is liely not the critters, but the waters....

(I do enjoy eating, and once managed a restaurant. You learn things.)

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Chicken Heel said:

Very interesting... not sure how to tell my wife that I may not have to give up scallops and crabs after all... the last time I ate scallops almost led to a divorce due to the horrid gas emanating from my body.

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Nuescolina said:

Im worried about this but because I am allergic to shellfish and concerned about giving my future chickens oyster shells

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Windrider said:

While I agree with Stormcrow's long answer, as a fellow "shellfish" allergic person, I'd like to help you simplify this a bit.

You do have to know a bit more about just what you are allergic to. For me, when I was told I was allergic to "shellfish," the allergist meant crustaceans (shrimp, crab, lobster). I can and do eat mollusks (clams, scallops, oysters). Though, like Stormcrow implied, I later found I could eat our local California spiny lobsters no problem if freshly caught, which we do on our sailing trips, so it the diagnosis isn't that cut and dried. Haven't bothered to find an allergist to help me nail down the specific allergen because it doesn't bother me to avoid those foods. I do have to be careful of farmed fish such as trout that have been fed shrimp shells to turn their flesh pink, as I get a mild reaction from that.

Oysters are a mollusk. Mollusk shells are not "alive" in the way, say, a turtle's or a shrimp's shell is, even when the animal is alive. The shell is mostly calcium carbonate, a non-living mineral laid down by the animal's living mantle. A living oyster's shell would be about 98% calcium carbonate and about 2% protein (the only potential allergen). By the time it is dried and processed for chickens, I don't know what the percentage would be or even if any protein would survive at all. Calcium carbonate derived from shells is often included in vitamins and foods, and the FDA does not require that it be labeled as "derived from shellfish" and hence a potential allergen. But the time it has gone through your chicken's digestive system, it would be even less likely to cause problems than when consumed directly.

In short, judging by the FDA I think you are good, unless you are violently allergic to the mere whiff of oysters.

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Nuescolina said:

I really appreciate the answers, especially yours as you understand this allergy and how scary it can be. My throat starts to close up if I'm in a large airy room where ANY shellfish is being cooked. I have been to an allergist and done extensive testing and told to avoid all shellfish, period.
I avoid it like the plague, it sounds like I might be okay with the shells though. I really appreciate everyone's thoughtful answers.

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