Salt for chickens?

[White leghorn farmer]

I read somewhere that salt could help improve the strength of eggshells and help chickens grow. If so,how would I add it in there diet?

 

[staceyj]

No! Salt is not good for chickens.

Calcium is what your hens need to improve eggshell strength.

Oyster shells are great or baking empty eggshells, crumbling them and feeding them back to your birds free choice is best.

 

[MissChick@dee]

*hint you need to bake the egg shells to prevent ecoli. I wash mine first after cracking. Then bake.
Oyster shell is inexpensive.
ETA: salt is not good for them and does nothing for the strength of the shells

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Just feed a good ration which is already formulated for chickens. As far as growth goes I find a daily treat of scrambled eggs makes my chicks grow quicker and stronger.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Most poultry feed already includes a tiny amount of salt as part of the formulation. I'm sure it's there to meet some vitamin need but given the very limited amount I see mixed in, I doubt there's need to supplement it further.

 

[50-45-1]

I dont bake my eggs shells, i dry them naturaly.
I have 2 small boxes that tangerines come in, when the second box is full i crush the shells in the first box. I store them on my sun porch. They are air dried and full of the desired nutritainal value having not gone thru the high temperature baking process. Plus baking them Smells discusting!
IF you are using egg shells from the store or someone elses chickens then maybe baking them might be a good idea as you never know about what might transfer to your flock.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I read somewhere that salt could help improve the strength of eggshells and help chickens grow. If so,how would I add it in there diet?

Welcome to the forum glad you joined. I think you have a good question.

Salt water birds like sea gulls have special glands to handle excess salt. Most other birds, including chickens, do not have those glands. Chickens need a certain amount for body function just like you do but excess salt can be harmful or even fatal.

How much salt are they getting now? How much salt are you talking about adding? They can get "salt" from things they eat while foraging. Chicken feed has a small amount. Can you even measure how much they are now getting? There is a range of how much salt they can safely process but I'd be extremely nervous about adding additional salt to their diet if I did not have a good handle on what they are currently getting.

Are you seeing any problems with egg shells or how they are growing. If so tell us about them. If you try to fix a problem that does not exist you will quite likely to create a problem.

 

[pibb]

There are several types of salts. People usually refer to "salt" as sodium chloride, but there are others. Potassium chloride and calcium chloride are two others. "Rock Salt or Deicer" usually contains calcium chloride but can also contain sodium chloride and magnesium chloride, just depends on what salt they want to use in their product.

Why couldn't calcium chloride be used as long as it's not overdosed and it is a pure product?

 

[paneubert]

Why couldn't calcium chloride be used as long as it's not overdosed and it is a pure product?

The main reason is that it will burn on contact with moisture/water. So eating it is asking for burns in the mouth, throat, and stomach. It is used in ice melt for this reason, not simply because it is a salt that lowers the freezing temp of water like "normal" table salt/sodium does.

Of course, if it was a tiny amount mixed in with some other food, may not burn. But "free choice" like some people do with oyster shells for calcium supplementation would be REALLY BAD.

 

[pibb]

You're right. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_chloride
"Solid calcium chloride dissolves exothermically, and burns can result in the mouth and esophagus if it is ingested. Ingestion of concentrated solutions or solid products may cause gastrointestinal irritation or ulceration."

So you wouldn't want to sprinkle calcium chloride powder directly on feed or eat it directly, but you could mix a small amount in the drinking water (in ppm) for a supplement for hens that wont eat oyster shells or for someone who needs a quick calcium boost for thin egg shells. After it dissolves with water it should be safe to consume as long as it is not too much (hypercalcemia). I can't find any reference as to how much is safe to use.