FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[azygous]

I apologize if this has been brought up in this thread. I'm wondering if anyone has mixed oyster shell in with the FF.

The reason I'm asking is that I was really hoping my EE Francie would start laying thicker-shelled eggs after being on FF for all these months now. Just yesterday her egg got smashed in the nest box by a heavy footed hen. One of my other EEs is laying thin-shelled eggs, too, but she lays them in a secretive spot so no one else goes there, and they're unlikely to get trampled.

It occurred to me that maybe these hens aren't eating enough oyster shell. I don't use layer feed to make my FF. So, could I mix the oyster shell in the FF, and maybe they'll get the calcium they need?

 

[Beekissed]

I'd just offer it free choice and they will partake of it when they need it. When you feed it to them in their food they have no choice and some may get more than they need. If offered free choice they will usually only consume what their body needs and no more.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'd just offer it free choice and they will partake of it when they need it. When you feed it to them in their food they have no choice and some may get more than they need. If offered free choice they will usually only consume what their body needs and no more.

X2
I don't feed layer feed either and have on rare occasion a thin egg, usually a pullet.
Thin shells aren't always related to insufficient calcium. There also has to be the proper ratio of calcium to phosphorus and sufficient vitamin D3. There have even been occasions of thin shells from a diet that had too much calcium in relation to phosphorus.
http://www.poultrynews.com/New/Diseases/Merks/207009.htm

 

[LindaB220]

I see I will have get 2 containers going at one time. 1 for in use and 1 for fermenting. This way I can feed them daily. I ran out and had to re-start yesterday. They don't care for the 24 hour FF as much as they liked the FF that had been setting for days.

Not a bad idea if you have a lot of chickens. Just to be on the safe side.

 

[LindaB220]

I did a quick search on them. They are used for feeding critters. It says they won't invade the home. I will never have them though. A roach is roach and I can't stand them! I'm sure there are enough bugs out in the yard that I don't need to grow more. We have a lot of roaches where I live due to all the trees. Thankfully they are not in my house!

Hear, Hear. Can't imagine the thought!!!!

 

[pdirt]

I apologize if this has been brought up in this thread. I'm wondering if anyone has mixed oyster shell in with the FF.

The reason I'm asking is that I was really hoping my EE Francie would start laying thicker-shelled eggs after being on FF for all these months now. Just yesterday her egg got smashed in the nest box by a heavy footed hen. One of my other EEs is laying thin-shelled eggs, too, but she lays them in a secretive spot so no one else goes there, and they're unlikely to get trampled.

It occurred to me that maybe these hens aren't eating enough oyster shell. I don't use layer feed to make my FF. So, could I mix the oyster shell in the FF, and maybe they'll get the calcium they need?

I have a hunch that EE (what I've read on BYC) and Americaunas (my own experience) may tend towards a genetic tendency of thin-shelled eggs. We have one Americauna that needs a special diet (lots of kefir) to produce thicker shells and if she goes off the kefir, her shells get thin. She gobbles down egg and oyster shell like it's going out of style. My hunch is that she is better able to extract calcium from the kefir than the shell products. Our current batch of FF is layer feed, complete with oyster shell and her shells are still thin. I'll make kefir again here soon and I'd bet money that her shells get thicker again.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'd definitely quit mixing oyster shell into the layer feed. Layer feed has the proper ratio of calcium to phosphorus. Forcing them to consume more calcium will cause an imbalance and lead to problems too. I've noticed the ameraucanas eating a lot of oyster shell but I've never had a thin shell from them. And seeing something like that isn't science, it's anecdotal.
The advantage of oyster shell or large particle calcium is that it stays in the upper digestive tract longer, thereby passing the calcium absorption sites in the small intestine when the egg is in the shell gland.
If a breed has a tendency to have poor shell quality, they wouldn't survive long.

I would read through this document.

http://www.nutrecocanada.com/docs/s...-formation-and-eggshell-quality-in-layers.pdf

 

[subhanalah]

I'd definitely quit mixing oyster shell into the layer feed. Layer feed has the proper ratio of calcium to phosphorus. Forcing them to consume more calcium will cause an imbalance and lead to problems too. I've noticed the ameraucanas eating a lot of oyster shell but I've never had a thin shell from them. And seeing something like that isn't science, it's anecdotal.
The advantage of oyster shell or large particle calcium is that it stays in the upper digestive tract longer, thereby passing the calcium absorption sites in the small intestine when the egg is in the shell gland.

dude...do you have like a cross sectional or like...diagram view of that process?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

A diagram of what process?

 

[Beekissed]

Progress report of meaty chicks, 2 wks old...