Calcium for hens

[Bryce Thomas]

I have a question about calcium, I have a faucet in the front yard that is not treated by water softener and calcium will slowly deposit essentially creating a slow calcium deposit on the faucet. Can I use the calcium build-up and give it to my hens given that its broken up into chips and pieces like crushed oyster shells?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I wouldn't risk it. If calcium is building up, other things might be too. Besides, it's not really worth it time and amount wise. Just keep giving them oystershell or egg shells with their feed

 

[Bryce Thomas]

I wouldn't risk it. If calcium is building up, other things might be too. Besides, it's not really worth it time and amount wise. Just keep giving them oystershell or egg shells with their feed

Ok. Can I use egg shells from store-bought eggs? I hear some say its risky because of bacteria and chemicals but idk everything. Any thoughts?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Ok. Can I use egg shells from store-bought eggs? I hear some say its risky because of bacteria and chemicals but idk everything. Any thoughts?

I've done it.

 

[NatJ]

Ok. Can I use egg shells from store-bought eggs? I hear some say its risky because of bacteria and chemicals but idk everything. Any thoughts?

I've never worried about it, and I've never noticed any problems.

 

[ChookieG]

I have a question about calcium, I have a faucet in the front yard that is not treated by water softener and calcium will slowly deposit essentially creating a slow calcium deposit on the faucet. Can I use the calcium build-up and give it to my hens given that its broken up into chips and pieces like crushed oyster shells?

I've thought about the same thing. Our town water (water from the tap which is provided by the local government) is hard-water as it's sourced from a large inland river system so the calcium content is higher. Even so there's way too little calcium in the water to even be a problem for chickens or be enough for layers so it should be safe for your chickens.

Your best bet is to provide them oyster shells as a supplement if you have a mixed flock. Egg shells can also be used but as long as you're consuming heaps of eggs, there just isn't enough to go around. For instance, we consume about 2-4 eggs per day and we have 4 layers and I struggled to provide them enough shells. Oyster shells have a greater percentage of absorbable amount of calcium and so your layers will consume very little so your shells will last a lot longer.

 

[Bryce Thomas]

I've thought about the same thing. Our town water (water from the tap which is provided by the local government) is hard-water as it's sourced from an large inland river system so the calcium content is higher. Even so there's way too little calcium in the water to even be a problem for chickens or be enough for layers so it should be safe for your chickens.

Your best bet is to provide them oyster shells as a supplement if you have a mixed flock. Egg shells can also be used but as long as you're consuming heaps of eggs, there just isn't enough to go around. For instance, we consume about 2-4 eggs per day and we have 4 layers and I struggled to provide them enough shells. Oyster shells have a greater percentage of absorbable amount of calcium and so your layers will consume very little so your shells will last a lot longer.

I own 5 silkies, 4 hens and a roo and get 3 eggs every other day if Im lucky

 

[ChookieG]

I own 5 silkies, 4 hens and a roo and get 3 eggs every other day if Im lucky

I've got 2 cockerels, 4 hens, and 3 pullets so I've got a mixed flock. If you're feeding only layer mix, my suggestion is to feed them pullet feed and supplement with calcium on the side so that your roo doesn't consume too much of the calcium that's already in the layer feed.

I find that pullet mix is still better as hens vary in the amount/degree of calcium they need. For instance I used to feed my hens just layer mix before I got roosters. I always find calcium deposits on the eggs of one of my hens but not for the other 3. The problem disappeared when I switched to pullet feed and supplemented them with oyster shells on the side so they can determine how much they need.

 

[3KillerBs]

Grocery store egg shells are fine. There are no "chemicals" in them -- otherwise the eggs couldn't be sold for human consumption.

But I consider eggshells a supplement to oystershell rather than a substitute for it.

 

[ChookieG]

Grocery store egg shells are fine. There are no "chemicals" in them -- otherwise the eggs couldn't be sold for human consumption.

But I consider eggshells a supplement to oystershell rather than a substitute for it.

by all means use them for your chickens.... but I'll rather keep those shells for my veggie garden...