Oyster Shell Flour?

[MichelleKing]

I have about 40 quail, and they are laying so I want to supplement with a little oyster shell because one of them was laying some soft shells. I buy the crushed shells but it seems like most of it is getting wasted because they can't eat it. So I've been using my super expensive food processor to mill up the shells into a powder, and they eat that just fine. The eggs are now all shiny and hard.

I found this product - oyster shell FLOUR. It says 96% calcium carbonate plus minerals and nutrients. The thing I was worried about was that it said it was for gardening and earth worms?

So, is it safe for my quail or should I keep using my food processor?

 

[ChickenDad921]

Why fix what is not broken?

 

[MichelleKing]

Why fix what is not broken?

Not sure what you mean?

It's a huge pain in the butt to lug out my industrial processor and grind up the shells plus its killing my blades.

 

[ChickenDad921]

From what I can find its used for pH levels in soil. I'm not an expert either. I'm sure they would eat it has they need to normally. Sorry I wasn't much help.

 

[Mosey2003]

@MichelleKing call up your local feed stores or CoOps/elevators that handle livestock feed and ask if they have calcium powder for feed, they usually do for cows and such. Your poor processor!!! Or you can look in pet bird stores and see if they have a smaller calcium product, depends on how much you use.

 

[Jrasche]

I have a bag of calcium that I bought for mixing in with salts for deer, that I will mix a little in when I fill my feeder. I also save all of my eggshells and use an old coffee grinder to make them into powder to do the same with.

 

[Folly's place]

I don't know about quail but for chickens, they need a calcium source that is in chunks, so it's available to them in the very early morning when they aren't eating, but their shell gland is producing the day's egg shell. Extra powdered oyster shell wouldn't be helpful to the laying hen.
Have you asked on the quail thread?
Mary