Substitute for Oyster Shell

[Folly's place]

x2! And, inhaling any dust out there is bad for your health! I wouldn't bother to try the 'greens' approach to replacing the oyster shell, and feeding egg shells may not be enough either. Find that limestone; if you've found a layer diet that works for you, that's great! Mary

 

[lazy gardener]

It's a myth that egg shell is not sufficient. If fed in adequate quantities, it is sufficient. Calcium from egg shell is absorbed just as well as that in OS. The issue with egg shell is this: if you are only returning egg shells to your flock from the eggs that they lay, then you will reach a point of diminishing return. But, if you have a safe source of egg shell, then it would be an adequate substitute for OS. I can believe that someone who is alergic to oysters may very well have a reaction to the OS in feed, or OS supplementation.

I have a friend who is highly reactive to gluten. Simply being exposed to the dust in a bag of chicken feed will send him into a reaction. I am allergic to scallops. The reaction caused by them is immediate, and includes digestive as well as cardiac responses.

For the poster who is allergic to OS, what about doing the math, and providing Ca++ from calcium pills?

I'd love to hear someone with experience using limestone as Ca++ supplementation. What is "high quality" lime, and how much would be used, and how would you use it?

 

[GC-Raptor]

I've bought several bags of Nutrena Naturewise Feather Fixer and none of them had oyster shell. It averages 3.5% Calcium. The main ingredient for calcium is Calcium Carbonate.
I don't believe any of the Nutrena Naturewise chicken feed has oyster shell. I have never seen it on the bag of layers feed. I will read the labels on their layers feed next time I buy feed, sometime this month. Anyhow read the label when you buy feed, cause ingredients change throughout the year. At least they do for Feather Fixer. GC