No egg but large wet mess in the sand with one gooey slimy spot

[Amy Carter]

I've had a few what I call wanna be eggs that got ate by my girls, but they have never attempted to eat one with a hard shell. I did have a hen who laid them on the ground (she had health issues and is now gone to the bridge) and they would roll those eggs around as if to play soccer, but then never went after the eggs in the box.

This is exactly what I was hoping for...like if a squishy egg was sitting there they'd eat it but they wouldnt go looking to steal them from nests. It's also quite likely because the wet mess was two feet away from the nesting box. Thank you

 

[Amy Carter]

Hello...You need Oyster shell its higher in Calcium than their egg shells..I used to keep my Shells but no longer bother..Any farm store that sells feed should have it...

ok, I'll go today. Thank you

 

[ChickenCanoe]

purina oyster strong system, you don't have to add oyster shells and it's a complete feed so you don't need supplements. they are doing a challenge right now with coupons my girls are on it, but they were dropping weight (they are a mareks flock) so it was suggested I ferment the feed and so far so good.

Oyster Strong system merely replaces some of the calcium carbonate in all layer feeds with large particle oyster shell. The amount of calcium is still the same. Layena has between 3.25% and 4.25% Ca and 0.42% P while their omega3 feed has between 3.5% and 4.5% Ca to 0.45% P.
Those numbers are similar to layer feed produced by any manufacturer - except that Purina uses some larger particle size Ca.
As @oldhenlikesdogs said, productive rate of the hen makes a lot of difference. Regardless of the brand of feed or how it is formulated, a hen producing 6 or 7 egg shells a week needs more Ca than a hen producing 2 egg shells a week.
Hence the need to supplement if you have a variety of hens producing differing numbers.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Oyster shell is about 98% calcium carbonate (CaCO3) while eggshells are about 90% CaCO3 so not a huge difference. The main advantage to OS is the large particle size.
Calcium carbonate is calcium carbonate regardless of the source whether it is in rocks or eggshells.

CaCO3 when digested is broken down into calcium and salts of carbonic acid. That is in the blood and reformulated into CaCO3 in the shell gland to form the shell.

 

[aart]

That's a good idea regarding the shell saving and mixing. Do you do that to stretch the oyster shells and make them last longer (egg shells being free and all) or does each provide a different benefit?

I do it just to use the egg shells, CC explained it well in quote below. I bought a 50# bag of oyster shell for around $10, as I use feed that has low calcium, convenient and cost efficient(small bags of oyster shell sold for chickens are crazy expensive) if you have a place to store it. I keep the bag in the garage and a liter bottle in the coop.

Egg shells and oyster shell are both made of calcium carbonate.
The benefit of oyster shell is the large particle size. Therefor it stays in the upper digestive tract longer and reaches the calcium absorption sites in the small intestine at night when eggs are normally in the shell gland.
The benefit of egg shells is that it makes use of something that may otherwise go to waste. I either mix the crushed egg shells in with the oyster shell or put them in the compost. That calcium then ends up in the garden beds.

 

[Amy Carter]

I do it just to use the egg shells, CC explained it well in quote below. I bought a 50# bag of oyster shell for around $10, as I use feed that has low calcium, convenient and cost efficient(small bags of oyster shell sold for chickens are crazy expensive) if you have a place to store it. I keep the bag in the garage and a liter bottle in the coop.

That makes a lot of sense. Is calcium content the only difference between that more expensive feed and the cheaper stuff? I didn't want to add shells, switch to cheap feed and then have them deficient on something...

 

[Amy Carter]

Oyster shell is about 98% calcium carbonate (CaCO3) while eggshells are about 90% CaCO3 so not a huge difference. The main advantage to OS is the large particle size.
Calcium carbonate is calcium carbonate regardless of the source whether it is in rocks or eggshells.

CaCO3 when digested is broken down into calcium and salts of carbonic acid. That is in the blood and reformulated into CaCO3 in the shell gland to form the shell.

I'm learning so much!!!
Thank you

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That makes a lot of sense. Is calcium content the only difference between that more expensive feed and the cheaper stuff? I didn't want to add shells, switch to cheap feed and then have them deficient on something...

Calcium content of the feed is determined by which age birds are being fed. If producing a feed for laying hens, it will be about 4% calcium. It will be about 1% calcium for all other birds.
Calcium content really has no effect on feed cost. As aart said, oyster shell in bulk is cheap and most feed companies don't even use oyster shell but rather a mined source of calcium carbonate.
The cost of feed is more influenced by protein and the quality of the primary ingredients like grains and legumes.
More expensive feeds will list the ingredients by actual feedstuff like corn, wheat, soybeans, alfalfa, peas, etc.. By contrast, cheaper feeds will have things like grain products, processed grain by-products listed.

 

[aart]

That makes a lot of sense. Is calcium content the only difference between that more expensive feed and the cheaper stuff? I didn't want to add shells, switch to cheap feed and then have them deficient on something...

It's not about cheap.
Calcium is cheap, protein is not.
Protein percentage is often the difference in price for feeds,
unless you get into the 'organic', 'non-GMO', 'no corn', 'no soy' type stuff.
Ignore the pretty labels on the front of the feed bags,
pay attention to the fine print in the tag sewn into the bottom of the bag.

My Feeding Notes: I like to feed a flock raiser/starter/grower/finisher type feed with 20% protein crumble full time to all ages and genders, as non-layers(chicks, males and molting birds) do not need the extra calcium that is in layer feed and chicks and molters can use the extra protein. Makes life much simpler to store and distribute one type of chow that everyone can eat. I do grind up the crumbles (in the blender) for the chicks for the first week or so.

The higher protein crumble also offsets the 8% protein scratch grains and other kitchen/garden scraps I like to offer daily. I adjust the amounts of other feeds to get the protein levels desired with varying situations.
Calcium should be available at all times for the layers, I use oyster shell mixed with rinsed, dried, crushed chicken egg shells in a separate container. I also regularly offer digestive granite grit in the appropriate size, throw it out on the ground with the scratch.
http://www.jupefeeds-sa.com/documents/GraniteGrit.pdf.

Animal protein (a freshly trapped mouse, a bit of canned mackerel, mealworms, a little cheese - beware the salt content, meat scraps) is provided once in while and during molting and/or if I see any feather eating.

 

[Lil_Boots]

they usually sell those type of supplements at the same place you can buy their feed and treats, easy peasy. good luck with your girls and definitely recycle those egg shells