can a chicken who eats gluten producing gluten free egg?

[Chicken Heel]

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.)

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.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

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.

More its that you might someday eat shrimp sourced from the same waters, and experience unexpected distress!

 

[Windrider]

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

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.

 

[raingarden]

https://www.beyondceliac.org/gluten-free-diet/is-it-gluten-free/eggs/

 

[Nuescolina]

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.

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.

 

[Windrider]

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.

Wow, it sounds like you are way more allergic than I am! When I was a kid, I often ate our local lobsters and shrimp and had no problem with them (and still don't have problems with the local lobster, but I make sure I am only eating lobster if I pull it out of the water myself). I developed more sensitivity as I got older.

I was around 20 when I went on a date and had Scampi for the first time. What a bad date... almost ended up in the hospital. Yeah, the tightening throat, sweats, and everything. I like to fish for trout and eat that too, but just recently found out that some store-bought farmed trout are fed shrimp to color up the flesh. Boy, did I have digestive upset for days after that trout! But at least not the really scary reactions. Watch out for Asian foods, many sauces are flavored with shellfish.

If you are that allergic to oysters, you might want to go to a farm store and take a sample whiff of the oyster shell, just to test for any reaction. I am still not convinced that it will cause an allergic reaction in the eggs, since it will be filtered and digested by the hen, but you don't want to be handling oyster shell if it will give you hives or asthma. There are other sources of calcium for your hens if you find you can't use oyster shell.

 

[PioneerChicks]

It is logical to me, regardless of what others say, that if the chickens eat wheat and soy and corn, there will be traces of those grains in the eggs. Maybe not enough to cause an allergic reaction, but there is probably a little bit there.