High Calcium Water?

[Winter Creek Coop]

Hello new friends. We have very high mineral content in our water, especially calcium. We rarely have soft or thin shells from eatablished layers. We feed the shells back, but we don’t supplement with oyster shells or anything else. Do others find any benefit is calcium rich drinking water? Does anyone know downsides? In growing plants some forms of calcium are mkre usable than others. In general our hard water is a pain, but it seems to help with eggs. Thoughts?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It depends on how much calcium they must ingest from drinking water.
It is all about the mg of calcium consumed daily whether that be from feed, water, oyster shell or egg shells. Without knowing the exact amount of calcium in those things ingested, there isn't really any way to tell if it is excessive, correct or insufficient.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

The shells get thin if lacking calcium. No idea where you live but here I don't need to supplement calcium in the summer. It's provided through forage from some where. The feed is 1% calcium and I only supplement oyster shell late fall, when laying in winter, and spring.

3% calcium is what layer feed has and I feel that is too much. Back in the day when I provided layer as food the shells were difficult to crack open. Solely on 1% all flock type it's too thin and needs supplement until late spring into summer.

 

[aart]

but it seems to help with eggs. Thoughts?

Hard to know if it actually helps with the eggs.
@ChickenCanoe detailed that out.

What is their regular feed, brand/model/protein and calcium percentages?

 

[Winter Creek Coop]

Hard to know if it actually helps with the eggs.
@ChickenCanoe detailed that out.

What is their regular feed, brand/model/protein and calcium percentages?

Their regular food is grain scratch with whatever I am able to get locally. Genrally I mix cracked corn, milo, black oil sunflower seeds, wheat, and sometimes oats or peas. They get kitchen and garden scraps, and supplemental meat a couple times a week when the bugs aren’t out. Our chickens are truly free range in the day though. So you’d have to ask them what accounts for a good amount if their diet .

 

[aart]

Their regular food is grain scratch with whatever I am able to get locally. Genrally I mix cracked corn, milo, black oil sunflower seeds, wheat, and sometimes oats or peas. They get kitchen and garden scraps, and supplemental meat a couple times a week when the bugs aren’t out. Our chickens are truly free range in the day though.

So they could be getting calcium from several sources other than the water.
Curious.......
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[Winter Creek Coop]

So they could be getting calcium from several sources other than the water.
Curious.......
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 2468485

I’m in Oklahoma.