Oyster Shell highest quality, most consistent form of calcium for poultry. Calcium is one of the most important nutrients for the laying hen including the most important process of egg production itself. It is used in large volumes for eggshell formation and it participates in numerous biochemical processes. Oyster Shell always contains 38% calcium with no detrimental impurities to harm eggshell quality. More poultry nutritionists and feed manufacturers suggest calcium from Oyster Shell to help alleviate eggshell problems than any other treatment. Because of its particle size, crystal structure, and surface indentation, Oyster Shell is biologically available to meter calcium into the blood stream when most needed, delivering a more consistent, "time released" source of calcium for your birds. Oyster Shell inclusion produces more marketable eggs. Recent research has shown, Oyster Shell included as a portion of the calcium in the ration of laying hens produces consistently better eggshell quality, resulting in an increased number of eggs per hen that actually make it through the collecting, handling, packing and distribution system to reach the consumer. According to research done at the University of Georgia, they found that feeding Oyster Shell gave them FIVE eggs more per bird by putting better shells on the eggs. Your profitability can decline because of unmarketable eggs due to thin shells, cracks and leakers. With high calcium Oyster Shell in your feed, you will get strong shells and high quality eggs the entire lay period. The oyster shell ideally answers every requirement for healthy hens - nutritional, mechanical and economical. Washed until thoroughly clean, kiln-dried and sterilized, the oyster shells are then crushed into flakes, Oyster Shell is a guaranteed minimum of 96% calcium carbonate. Mixing Oyster Shell in the feed permits the birds to adjust their intake of calcium to individual requirements as they enter the laying cycle, plus during and after molt. Using Oyster Shell in the feed will produce stronger shells, more eggs per hen housed and your production and profits will come up and stay up. Oyster Shell use combats early mortality in hens. Birds laying large eggs every day draw on their medullary bone to support the demands of shell formation. Remember, researchers estimated that the hen only gets 75% of its calcium needs to cover the egg from its daily feed. This is why a limestone source of calcium cannot give the bird its total calcium requirements. The effect of the regular draw against the hen's calcium reserve is cumulative, and the result is osteoporosis or caged layer fatigue. Caged layer fatigue is a term that does not describe very well what happens to the hen or why. It refers to a condition of severe weakness in laying hens that causes them to appear paralyzed or may cause death. It is associated with low reserves of readily available calcium and limited exercise in a hen that is in heavy egg production. The modern laying hen has great susceptibility to this problem because she makes large numbers of eggs, but eats a relatively small amount of feed. Oyster Shell is flaky product which floats in the feed and birds can eat their calcium requirements without eating the feed. With Oyster Shell they can pick out the shell from the feed to satisfy their needs. The managers of several large laying complexes reported that the inclusion of Oyster Shell at the early stages of lay as a portion of the calcium requirement of laying hens improved both shell quality and reduced mortality.