calcium phosphorous balance

[PattyO]

I have Golden Comets that are about ten months old. I have been having a problem with them laying shelless eggs. I am assuming they are shelless unless they have eaten all the shell and left some of the soft stuff. I feed Purina Layena and was considering adding oyster shell but I have read you need to balance that with a phosphorous source. The book mentioned defluorinated rock phosphate or phosphorous-16. Have any of you used this and is it something I can get at the feed store? Also what is kelp for and where would I get that?

 

[WoodlandWoman]

If you just leave the oyster shell in a container for the chickens, they will eat it if they need it and balance their diet themselves.

Kelp has a really long list of different nutrients in it, including some salt and trace minerals from the ocean. You can usually get it at a feed mill that has supplies for mixing your own feeds. If you can't find it in your area, you can also order it online from a lot of different places. You could also ask the feed mills around you if they could get a bag for you, even if they don't normally carry it. Sometimes they'll do that. A feed store might carry it, but it's not as likely.

Edited to add that kelp is an ingredient in feed recipes that people mix up.

 

[PattyO]

Thanks