Soft shell, but there's oyster shell mixed into feed-help?

[tweetzone86]

Phytic acid found in whole grains can interfere with calcium absorption. Soaking the feed for a day will reduce the level of phytic acid. You can take it a step further by fermenting the feed as well.

Won't that result in moldy feed?

 

[tweetzone86]

One bird laying softies is not a diet issue but a bird issue.
Some birds just do not assimilate nutrients as well as others.
Or they could have defective shelling gland, no it doesn't always present from the start.

It could just be stress then.
Give it some time.

Agrees that OS shouldn't be mixed into the feed.
Sprinkling some on top might be OK in the short run...
...or just sprinkle some around on the ground.
Some birds don't know to eat it.

I tossed some into the "run" I have (temporary garden fence propped up on a porch swing frame til I get the real run built) but they looked at me aghast like they were saying, "That isn't scratch, you heathen." They have been enjoying the 15" tall grass on the property in that spot and are effectively "mowing" it down, and if it weren't for the fact that the first sign of soft shell I found was in their old coop a day before we moved them into the new one, I would think the fresh grass they've been eating like mad was the culprit.

So this has been going on for about a week and a half. Should I pick up dye of some sort and put it on their butts so I can try and figure out who is laying it and isolate her? And put her own special oyster shell on the side in there to see if she's actually eating it? Or will I need to do special feed for just her (as the others are fine with the oyster shell, or must be since their shells are hard) that has calcium in it, rather than oyster shell on the side?

 

[aart]

(ie can it get wet?)

Yes, it can.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Phytic acid found in whole grains can interfere with calcium absorption. Soaking the feed for a day will reduce the level of phytic acid. You can take it a step further by fermenting the feed as well.

I fermented feed for two years... if your flock is healthy already, it's a bunch of hype.

The nutrition experts who came up with the formulations for our feeds are well aware of this phytic acid issue and the feed is formulated to account for it.

So phytic acid and what... acid from citrus block calcium... but all these peeps acidifying their feed by fermenting (no it doesn't mold UNLESS you let the yeast run out of feed for themselves, then it does) and/ or adding acv to their water doesn't cause calcium absorption issues??

I live in the PNW... my OS gets wet... it's no big deal.

 

[AquaDuck]

I fermented feed for two years... if your flock is healthy already, it's a bunch of hype.

The nutrition experts who came up with the formulations for our feeds are well aware of this phytic acid issue and the feed is formulated to account for it.

So phytic acid and what... acid from citrus block calcium... but all these peeps acidifying their feed by fermenting (no it doesn't mold UNLESS you let the yeast run out of feed for themselves, then it does) and/ or adding acv to their water doesn't cause calcium absorption issues??

I live in the PNW... my OS gets wet... it's no big deal.

Yeah, I agree. Chickens have grains in their natural diet so their intestines are developed to handle gluten, phytic acid and other "scary" grain stuff. But there are always individual differences (just like with people), and birds with other intestinal issues can be affected in that area too. Soaking/fermenting feed isn't a magic cure for all things bad, but it could help some vulnerable birds.

Phytic acid binds minerals to itself and therefore reduces the amount absorbed in the body. So a diet low in minerals such as calcium and high in phytic acid can cause mineral deficiencies. There need to be a balance. That's why it's recommended for people who eat a lot of whole grain bread to drink milk.