huitre shells for chicken can help them to lie testis with stronger eggshells . While we do n’t often think about the role , composition or strength of eggshells , there are serious logical implication associated with the morphological integrity of an shell , including hen health , the viability of a developing chick and even human wellness .
Calcium Conundrum
Eggshells dwell primarily of calcium . For a biddy to make an testicle , she involve atomic number 20 from somewhere . However , most of us stop believe about it after we buy a bag of oyster shells and a commercial-grade level feed that contains calcium .
Why should we offer huitre scale for chickens along with this bed provender ? A second source of calcium should be available to support the wellness of the biddy in plus to help her create strong shell .
Many people feast the cleaned , driedeggshellsback to their repose passel instead of oyster shells , believe this will execute the same objective . However , that is not the eccentric , and the understanding relates mainly to size .
Let ’s take a inscrutable spirit at why laying hens necessitate huitre shells in their diet and why offering eggshell back to them does not offer the same benefit to hen health and shell strength .
Oyster Shells for Chickens: Food and Health
Chickens and humans are different in a lot of ways , but we ’re similar in that what we eat touch our health as well as how our bodies perform various procedure . As any woman who has struggled with fertility issues knows , dieting affects ball production and eggs quality ; likewise , a biddy ’s egg production and quality are affect by her dieting .
A hen , however , is much more sensitive to getting her daily nutritionary needs met than a woman , for a diverseness of factors include a hen ’s distinct anatomy , her gamey metabolism and because she produce many eggs each month rather than just one . For a hen to be healthy and make secure eggshells , she must have entree to precise amounts of specific nutrients — most notably , Ca — in specific pattern , at special times throughout each around 24 - hour period .
Eggshells are approximately 95 percent calcium carbonate . To produce an eggshell , the Ca must number from a hen ’s diet . In fact , a pose biddy must consume approximately 4 g of calcium per solar day to get the 2 grams of Ca needed to make one eggshell , which is three times more dietetic atomic number 20 than required by nonlaying hens .
The most uncouth reservoir of Ca carbonate feed to laying hens are jam limestone and huitre shells . Commercially get up layer feeds ordinarily contain broken limestone , while oyster shell for chickens are usually offer as a supplement in a dispenser or hopper alongside the feed . I offer oyster shells to my hen loose - option to allow each biddy to regulate the intake to meet her specific atomic number 20 needs .
Ca carbonate must be broken down into its calcium and carbonate components in the hen ’s gut before being take in into the blood stream , where it ’s delivered right away to the shell secretor ( the womb ) ; any extra is then stored in the hen ’s bones .
Laying hens store atomic number 20 in specialised os called medullary bones . believe of a medullary os like a sponge filled with calcium that is encased inside a hard , empty pearl . The hard bone is the cortical bone , which is responsible for for lastingness and stability .
If a laying biddy does n’t have calcium trickling into her bloodstream while create an shell , she will steal it from the calcium hoard inside her cortical bones . This calcium theft can stimulate brittle bones that fracture easily ( osteoporosis ) , and in the most severe cases , the inability to stand , which is have a go at it as cage - layer fatigue .
Shell to Shell
It pains me to get out some of my hen ’ colorful masterworks , intentionally or unintentionally , but when I do , it ’s a solacement to know that I can fertilize the clean , dry , crushed shells back to the ladies for employment in making new plate . However , feed in eggshells back to a hen is not sufficient to supply her with the resources she need to create new , potent eggshells and to remain healthy .
desegregate unclouded , air - dry out shell into huitre shells for chickens is fine , but eggshells , much like crushed limestone in the provender , are a fast - release source of calcium , which is n’t useable to a hen during the most atomic number 20 - demanding fortune of eggshell production : at night while she ’s sleeping . The take - nursing home message : Eggshells offered with oyster scale are o.k. but are n’t a sufficient source of supplemental calcium by themselves .
Oyster Shells for Chickens: Size & Timing Matters
The time it takes for most food particles to pass through a chicken ’s digestive tract is about 90 minutes . When a hen is awake and eating layer provender , crushed limestone dissolve into her bloodstream apace , catch where it needs to go . However , it deal close to 25 hours for a hen to construct an nut . Eighteen to 20 of these hours are devote to shell formation , the bulk of which occurs at night while she is sleeping . Do you see where we ’re going with this ? When a biddy is departed , she is not eating and therefore does n’t have accession to the calcium in her feed to practice for establish the shell . That is a major problem because while build up an eggshell , a hen can use and replace the calcium she carries in her bloodstream as many as 100 clock time .
So , what ’s a girl to do in the middle of the night when she craves calcium on the graveyard shift ? While she wo n’t stop making the shell without demolish limestone in her blood stream , she will keep work up the eggshell to the hurt of her own health with calcium she pillages from her bones to polish off the task . That is unless — cue the spectacular music — she has a 2nd source of slow - release calcium to tap into tardily at dark .
The large particles of oyster plate help as a slow - release beginning of atomic number 20 for a biddy . They seat in her gastric mill , where they are ground up gradually throughout the Nox for purpose as the hen demand them . If you pay attention to your set hen just prior to roosting time each nighttime , you will notice that they pluck up pieces of huitre shield , readying themselves for their night job .
Strength Equals Health
A hen care about eggshell strength , and so should we . Let ’s think of that the purpose of eggs is to make more chickens , not breakfast food . If fertilized by a rooster , the contents of an egg can give to the perpetuation of the species . For a fertilized egg to have a chance at develop into a healthy chick , it must be protected from harm , including bacterium swipe in through an shell ’s approximately 7,000 to 17,000 pore . A potent shell is a critical defense against threats to the natural selection of a developing fertilized egg . That ’s a lot of imperativeness on a hen to make a quality Cartesian product .
Most eggs lay in today ’s world are destined for human usance . Why should we care about eggshell lastingness ? Two Holy Scripture : solid food guard .
When we think about eggs and food safety , we often concern ourselves with issues such as whether an testicle is clean or dirty when pile up , wash or unwashed , and store in the refrigerator or on the countertop . Defending an egg ’s content against bacterial encroachment is an shell ’s basal function , and a strong eggshell is an important defending team against bacteria getting into our nutrient .
Here ’s a quick test for eggshell strength you could essay at home with the child . snap an shell on a bowl , and take a face at the resulting break . Did the carapace conk out in a straight , clear line or was it jag and haphazard ? A clean break signals a impregnable shell while a jagged or messy break evoke the need to reevaluate the hen ’s dieting with a close look at the sources and forms of her calcium inspiration .
