Substitute for Oyster Shell

[lazy gardener]

I've been toying with the idea of making egg shell Ca++ supplement for myself. One study I read said that it not only helps with bone density, but with cartilage formation.

 

[AllenK RGV]

I'd like to know if there is a good calcium substitute for Oyster Shell. For personal and allergenic reasons, my wife can't have anything with shellfish ingredients in it, so we dry and grind up our egg shells as a calcium replacement. However, I'd like to find another source for calcium for the needs of the hens. We feed food scraps, as well as wild bird seed, layer crumbles, and scratch to provide as much vitamins/minerals as possible, but I'd like to increase the possibility of adequate calcium for egg-laying.

Any help in locating a substitute would be appreciated. TIA

I would appreciate seeing a location in your personal details so I could offer better advice, but if you live in the southern states......BSFL are reported to be a good source of calcium as well.

You can build these with rain gutters and a barrel as seen here. For more information please visit Articles(top of page) then click on the learning center. Also, this is not my image but one I have lifted off the net. Original source materials are available here some of the hyperlinks work:

BLACK SOLDIER FLY COMPOSTER / AUTOMATIC CHICKEN FEEDER
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A simple 3D animation to show relative size and layout of the BSF Composter / Chicken Feeder
We have had much success harvesting Black Soldier Fly Larvae to feed our chickens, but we needed a new design. After much thought, this is the design that we have come up with. We designed this unit with these things in mind:

• large for plenty of compost

• portable so we can move it

• auto-feeds our chickens

• easy to build and replicate

• made from common materials

This composter can turn everyday food and garden waste in to a nutritious food source for chickens and rich compost. We simply place the food scraps in the barrel and the Black Soldier Fly (or BSF) larvae does the rest. The larvae converts the scraps in to rich organic compost. Once the Larvae are mature, they crawl up the rain gutter and fall in to the chicken feeder. The chickens love the BSF and they get a healthy dose of calcium and protein. Once the composter is full of compost, take the barrel out and dump it and mix it in your compost pile as it is ready to be used. This device reduces household waste and provides a free dietary supplement for your chickens. The BSF larvae that are not eaten eventually transform in to adult BSF, lay eggs, and you really don’t see them much at all. The pheromones produced from the BSF repel the common house flies. There is not much odor that is produced from this process, similar to a conventional compost pile but the process is much faster.


Here is the completed project. Our 8 hens can eat at the same time with this unit. The portability makes it easy to go between the chicken coup and the compost pile. Click image to enlarge.
Materials:

• (3) 2″x4″x8′ Treated Lumber
• (1) 55 Gallon Food Grade Barrel
• (2 Linear Feet) 3/4″ PVC
• (5 Linear Feet) Rain Gutter
• (1 pair) Rain Gutter Ends
• (4) 3″ Swivel Caster Wheels
• (1) box Deck Screws and appropriate bit

Tools:

• Cordless 3/8″ Drill or more
• Circular Saw
• Variable Speed Jig Saw
• 1″ Drill Bit
• Marking Utensil (sharpie, crayon, pencil, etc.)
• Measuring Tape
• (2) Saw Horses
• Safety Glasses

Instructional Video:
When: April 23rd, 2011
Where: The Garden Pool in Mesa, AZ
Who: Dennis with GardenPool.org
Length: 16 minutes

Untitled from GardenPool on Vimeo.

This was recorded live in a classroom setting. To be a part of our classes in person, join our meetup group.

How it was made:
Click Here for the 2×4 cutting guide.
Begin by cutting the 2×4’s. There is a cutting guide on the left to help you make the cuts with your circular saw and saw horses. As you can see, there is only 5% wood scrap in this project.
Begin assembling the barrel base. Use two 19″ pieces and two 36″ pieces to assemble as shown below.

Next, add a pair of 6″ legs on one side and a pair of 12″ legs on the other as shown below.Next, add support for the legs by using a 19.5″ piece in the front and back as shown below.

Next, connect the two legs with two 42″ pieces as shown below.

Add the 4 swivel caster wheels to make the base mobile as shown below.

Next, we need to add the front guard. Use the 4″ piece of wood next as shown below.

Next, attach the 21″ 3/4″ PVC pipe to the base as shown in the picture below.

Next, add the 21″ rain gutter with caps to the top of the front of the base. Do not secure until you loose fit with the barrel in place. The barrel should be all the way forward. Once you know where the barrel will rest, secure the rain gutter as shown below.

Now it is time to prepare the barrel. Drill a 1″ hole in to the barrel as shown below.

Next, carefully cut out a smile with a jig saw in the barrel as shown below.

Next, clean the barrel and place on top of your base as shown below.

Finally, add the 39″ piece of rain gutter in the barrel, all the way against the back. The rain gutter should stick out just enough so that the BSF would fall from the top rain gutter to the bottom rain gutter as they crawl. The finished picture is below.

 

[blackdog043]

I have a Vitamix, I bet it would grind the shells up to a nice powder. It makes a nice brown rice flour, for my home made dog treats.

 

[lazy gardener]

@AllenK RGV , Excellent post. I give you all of my excellent post of the day points. Be sure to put them in a safe spot. Perhaps in a jar, on top of your fridge!

 

[AllenK RGV]

@AllenK RGV , Excellent post. I give you all of my excellent post of the day points. Be sure to put them in a safe spot. Perhaps in a jar, on top of your fridge!

Thank you for the high praise, means a lot coming from you and gave me the giggles too!

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Hi.

I'm thinking limestone might be an alternative but you would have to research a little.
However, if you want to avoid the oyster shell... you're likely gonna have to avoid "layer" feed that has it mixed in usually at a rate of about 4%. ...

One thing I will share, and I don't know if it will help you or not... But when the oyster shell is taken in by the hen, it is absorbed into her keel bone where it is then redistributed to the shell gland where it will be used to lay down the hardened egg shell material.....

Here is a link to mineral deficiencies in chicks and laying hens. It does mention in this link that finely ground limestone is not an ideal source of Calcium Carbonate for laying hens.

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/poult...ement-poultry/mineral-deficiencies-in-poultry

The simple fact that all or almost all of the calcium carbonate in eggshells is first deposited in a hens skeleton BEFORE these minerals are sent on to her shell-gland for eggshell production is a good enough reason for me to feed oyster shells. As the link mentions there are a whole list of mineral nutrients and micro-mineral nutrients that are essential for the production of strong eggshells and almost none of these items are present in second hand eggshells. Many of these micro-minerals are not in and of themselves are present in eggshells but they none the less are vital for the successful production of strong eggshells.

As far as the certified list of ingredients goes, I seriously doubt that the list of ingredients on a bottle of baby oil lists its true ingredients, like West Texas Sweet Crude Oil, or North Sea Brent Crude Oil or even Arab Extra Light Crude Oil but never the less that doesn't mean that baby oil isn't made from crude petroleum, a.k.a. Mineral Oil which means that it was either pumped or that it came gushing right out of the Earth.. Well the same is true of Oyster Shell. Oyster Shell by any other name is in reality Calcium Carbonate.

 

[MTchicknman]

@lazy gardener - Thanks for the links - good read.
@ AllenK - MT = Montana, otherwise known as the frozen North - this year, any ways - BSF wouldn't last here, although I'm sure the chickens would love them. If we go to TN this next Winter, I'll be asking you about your BSF harvester!
I bought some crushed limestone at Tractor Supply this week, called the MFG'r and they said it is for keeping down the odors and moisture in horse & cattle sheds, chicken coops, dog kennels, etc. - just sprinkled around. Sure the chickens will peck at the floor, but the small amount won't hurt the animals.
@chickengeorgeto - She noted also that this is not a high calcium limestone, so we'll just try it out for it's odor and moisture reduction value for now. I guess we'll look into Calcium Carbonate as well.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Ya, I raise darkling beetles/mealworms. My temps aren't warm enough to keep BSFL.

Thank y'all for the learning!

 

[AllenK RGV]

@lazy gardener - Thanks for the links - good read.
@ AllenK - MT = Montana, otherwise known as the frozen North - this year, any ways - BSF wouldn't last here, although I'm sure the chickens would love them. If we go to TN this next Winter, I'll be asking you about your BSF harvester!
I bought some crushed limestone at Tractor Supply this week, called the MFG'r and they said it is for keeping down the odors and moisture in horse & cattle sheds, chicken coops, dog kennels, etc. - just sprinkled around. Sure the chickens will peck at the floor, but the small amount won't hurt the animals.
@chickengeorgeto - She noted also that this is not a high calcium limestone, so we'll just try it out for it's odor and moisture reduction value for now. I guess we'll look into Calcium Carbonate as well.

hehe your CaCO3 limestone isn't the high calcium variety of CaCO3? Gotta love sales slime.
SS to MGR: I got a customer on the line asking about calcium content for their chicken....
MGR: --flips a coin----tell them it is the low calcium sort...
SS--OK, TY

edit-- copy pasting top google result:
Commodity: Limestone, a sedimentary rock that is dominantly composed of the calcium-bearing carbonate minerals calcite and dolomite. Calcite is chemically calcium carbonate (formula CaCO3). Dolomite is chemically calcium-magnesium carbonate (formulaCaMg(CO3)2).

 

[lazy gardener]

It never ceases to amaze me the tripe that is dished out by feed store employees on a daily basis. I've refused to purchase medicated starter. Have never used it, never intend to use it. Several years ago, when I asked for unmedicated chick starter, the SS would argue with me that if I did not buy medicated feed, all of my chicks would die. My reply: "If you don't have unmedicated starter, I'll just go buy it from your competitor. Good by." Amazingly, within the last 2 years the management of this very store that told me I would be killing my chicks actually started offering unmedicated chick starter. Evidently, they are now willing to aid and abet in the murder of countless innocent chicks.