Calcium??

[Mybabyblue]

When should I introduce Calcium to my girls? Either by oyster shell or egg shell? Is there a preference out there between these two choices? Also I saw Omega 3 at my local feed store this weekend. I usually buy the Omega 3 eggs at the grocery store but would love to have Omega eggs when my girls start laying. Does this work?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have no idea on Omega-3.

They need the excess calcium when they start to lay eggs, not before. There are a lot of potential sources of calcium. Layer feed has excess calcium. If Layer is all they eat, they’ll probably get enough from that. You don’t need to supplement with anything else. If your native rock is limestone, they may get plenty of calcium from the rocks they eat as grit. Many plants, weeds or stuff from the garden, contain calcium. Hard-shelled bugs and some creepy crawlies can provide calcium. Lots of potential sources but I don’t know which are available to yours or how much they get from these.

You can tell if yours are getting enough calcium from these sources by the egg shells. If the egg shells are hard, they don’t really need any extra calcium.

Whether or not they are getting enough calcium from other sources, it doesn’t hurt to offer extra calcium on the side. If they don’t need it, they probably won’t eat it. Personally I don’t like to mix these with their feed because their bodies have to work extra hard to get rid of excess calcium. That’s why I always offer it on the side. Let them decide if they need it or not. Mine often just ignore egg shells. They don’t need the excess calcium. And the egg shells they lay are fine.

They need a bit of calcium for things other than just the egg shells. They use some calcium to help maintain their bodies. Also, some the calcium they eat does not get absorbed by their body but passes on through and gets expelled along with their poop. The point of this is that if egg shells are the only source of calcium for your chickens, the egg shells by themselves are not enough. Usually they get calcium from the feed or something else, but watch the shells of the eggs they lay. If they get thin, you need to do something.