Is there a difference in oyster shell products?

[Rlilchickadee]

I've tried to find the answer to this here but I'm sure it is. Anyway, I was looking to purchase some oyster shell for my pullets and the bag said core calcium and shell product. I didn't see anywhere Oyster shell. Wanted to make sure I got the right product for them. thanks for any help.

 

[LynneP]

Yes, there is a difference. Our oyster shell is shipped from Chesapeake Bay so the crushed product contains the minerals that oysters absorb from there. Limestone flour, the product used mainly in the UK, is mainly calcium carbonate but varies from one location to another and may contain some dolomite and other minerals. But basically your hens need calcium carbonate and will get this from either product. I remember my uncle used to go to the shoreline and gather all kinds of seashells and have his sons pound them down and put them in sacks for the hens. It's a lot of work, but as effective. Many layer feeds contain calcium carbonate, but I offer extra because the needs of some hens, particularly those that lay big eggs, vary.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

So far as your hens are concerned shell is shell if it's in the right size range for them to easily swallow. Around my part of Florida there's just one brand if you can find shell at all. I once did get a bag imported from Europe that was some beatiful stuff - all very uniform in size and no dust. It was very expensive and I wouldn't have bought it if I had been able to find the other stuff, but at the time it was that or nothing. Never saw it again after that.

.....Alan.

 

[Rlilchickadee]

Thanks for the help. The bag says calcium carbonate so I got it.

 

[LynneP]

Should be fine- the commercial brands are heat-treated to destroy any organisms that might cling to the shells...

 

[Ridgerunner]

I am not arguing with LynneP at all. She is correct. I will point out, as she did, that layer contains extra calcuium. I do not offer any additional calcium beyond what is already in the layer feed and my shells are thick and hard. The native rock here has a lot of limestone in it and I am sure they get some extra calcium from the rocks they pick up as grit. I don't know your set-up or conditions. You may need to supplement their calcium intake. I don't. I did not start feeding layer until after my first one started laying and her shells were hard and thick. I'm just throwing this out as an option.

 

[SimplyForties]

A.T. Hagan :

So far as your hens are concerned shell is shell if it's in the right size range for them to easily swallow. Around my part of Florida there's just one brand if you can find shell at all. I once did get a bag imported from Europe that was some beatiful stuff - all very uniform in size and no dust. It was very expensive and I wouldn't have bought it if I had been able to find the other stuff, but at the time it was that or nothing. Never saw it again after that.

.....Alan.

Wow, Floridians buying shells from Europe. Crazy world we live in!

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Quote:
Yeah, that's what I said too.

.....Alan.