6 Chicken Feeds For Eggshell Quality That Old Farmers Swear By
Boost eggshell quality with 6 feeds trusted by generations. From oyster shell to limestone, these tips ensure strong, healthy eggs for your flock.
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Understanding Calcium’s Role in Eggshell Formation
An eggshell is almost entirely calcium carbonate. Think of it as a hen’s biological masterpiece, constructed in about 20 hours, mostly overnight while she roosts. To build this protective shell, she has to pull a massive amount of calcium from her system.
A good layer feed provides the baseline, but it’s not the whole story. The hen’s body can’t store large amounts of dietary calcium for long. Instead, she draws it from her bloodstream, which is replenished from her diet and a special, porous bone structure called the medullary bone. If she can’t get enough from her food when she needs it, she’ll pull it from her bones, weakening her own skeleton over time.
This is why the timing and form of calcium are so critical. Calcium that is absorbed too quickly during the day is useless for shell formation happening late at night. The goal is to provide a slow, steady supply that aligns with her natural egg-laying cycle.
Crushed Oyster Shell: The Timeless Calcium Boost
Ensure strong eggshells and healthy hens with Pecking Order Oyster Shell. This natural calcium supplement supports consistent egg production and promotes overall bone health in your flock.
There’s a reason old-timers have kept a dish of oyster shell in the coop for generations. It just works. Crushed oyster shell is the gold standard for calcium supplementation because of its large particle size.
Unlike fine limestone powder that gets digested quickly, these larger flakes sit in the hen’s gizzard and dissolve slowly over many hours. This process provides a steady trickle of calcium into her bloodstream throughout the night, precisely when she is building the shell. It’s the perfect timed-release system, powered by the bird’s own digestion.
The key is to offer it "free-choice" in a separate container. Don’t mix it into their main feed. Hens are brilliant at regulating their own calcium intake; a young pullet needs far less than a heavy-laying hen in her third year. This method lets each bird take exactly what she needs, when she needs it, preventing both deficiency and excess.
Purina Layena+ Pellets for Consistent Shell Hardness
For the hobby farmer short on time, a complete feed that addresses shell quality head-on is a game-changer. Purina Layena+ is a widely available and reliable option that bakes the solution right into the pellet. Its main advantage is the Oyster Strong® System, which includes large-particle calcium in the feed mix.
This formulation mimics the benefit of free-choice oyster shell without requiring a separate feeder. It ensures that with every bite, your hens get both immediate-release calcium for daily metabolic function and slow-release calcium for overnight shell formation. It’s a straightforward approach that removes a lot of the guesswork.
The tradeoff is convenience for a slightly higher cost and less individual control. While highly effective, some farmers still offer a small dish of supplemental oyster shell on the side. This gives older hens or those in peak production an extra boost if they need it, providing the best of both worlds.
Nutrena NatureWise Layer Feed for Overall Nutrition
Strong shells aren’t built with calcium alone. Nutrena’s NatureWise line focuses on the bigger picture of hen health, understanding that a well-supported system produces better eggs. This feed is formulated to ensure the hen can actually use the calcium she consumes.
This is where supporting nutrients come into play. Vitamin D3 is essential for calcium absorption in the gut, while phosphorus and manganese are critical for the chemical process of forming the shell. NatureWise includes these, along with prebiotics and probiotics to support gut health. A healthy digestive tract is far more efficient at absorbing all available nutrients from feed, including the ones needed for strong shells.
Choosing a feed like this is an investment in the flock’s foundational health. It addresses shell quality not as a single issue, but as the output of a healthy, functioning bird. When you see consistently strong shells from a feed like this, it’s often a sign that everything else is working right, too.
Scratch and Peck Feeds for an Organic Calcium Source
If you’re committed to an organic or non-GMO flock, Scratch and Peck is the brand that most closely aligns with that philosophy. They offer whole-grain, unprocessed layer feeds that provide nutrition in a form that’s closer to what a chicken would naturally forage for.
Their layer feeds include a balanced mix of grains and legumes, with calcium sourced from oyster shell or limestone included directly in the mix. Because the ingredients are in a more "raw" state, it encourages natural pecking and scratching behavior. Many farmers who use it report vibrant yolks and excellent shell strength, attributing it to the high quality and bioavailability of the unprocessed ingredients.
This approach isn’t for everyone. The feed is a premium product and comes with a higher price tag. But for the farmer who prioritizes organic inputs and whole-food nutrition, Scratch and Peck provides a complete system you can trust to build strong shells from the ground up.
Black Soldier Fly Larvae: A Protein-Rich Supplement
Don’t overlook the power of protein. While calcium forms the shell, the protein-based membrane just inside it is the scaffolding everything is built upon. A weak membrane leads to a weak, often misshapen, shell.
Dried Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) are an incredible supplement for this. They are packed with high-quality protein and essential amino acids that hens need to form strong membranes and healthy eggs. They also contain a good amount of calcium, making them a dual-purpose treat.
Think of BSFL as a targeted nutritional boost. Tossing a handful to your flock in the afternoon gives them a valuable treat that supports the entire egg-making process. It’s a simple way to ensure they have the protein building blocks needed for a strong foundation before the shell is even started.
Kelp Meal for Supplying Essential Trace Minerals
Sometimes, you can provide all the calcium in the world and still get brittle shells. This is often a sign of a trace mineral deficiency. Kelp meal is an old-school secret weapon for providing a huge spectrum of micronutrients that are often missing from basic feeds.
Trace minerals like zinc, copper, and manganese are like the skilled workers on the shell construction site. They act as catalysts and co-factors in the enzymatic processes that crystallize calcium into a strong, resilient shell. A lack of these tiny components can bring the whole operation to a halt.
You don’t need much. Just a small amount of kelp meal—about 1-2% of the total feed ration—can make a noticeable difference. It’s a simple, natural way to cover your nutritional bases and ensure your hens have every tool they need to lay perfectly formed, durable eggs.
Free-Choice Feeding Your Calcium Supplements
The single most effective strategy for ensuring great shell quality is providing supplemental calcium free-choice. This means placing crushed oyster shell or other coarse calcium sources in a separate dish or feeder, completely independent of their main feed.
Hens have an amazing innate ability to regulate their calcium needs. A hen who is about to lay an egg will actively seek out calcium, while a hen who is molting and not laying will ignore it. Mixing it into the feed forces every bird to consume the same amount, which can lead to too little for your best layers and too much for others, potentially causing kidney damage.
Free-choice feeding solves this problem entirely. It puts the hen in control, saves you from worrying, and is the most efficient way to supplement. Just keep the container full and let them handle the rest. It’s the simplest, most effective practice you can adopt for consistently strong shells.
Ultimately, strong eggshells are the result of a complete nutritional system, not a single magic ingredient. By starting with a quality layer feed and supplementing intelligently with free-choice oyster shell and targeted nutrients like kelp or BSFL, you empower your hens to do what they do best. Pay attention to your flock, trust their instincts, and you’ll be rewarded with a basket full of strong, healthy eggs every day.
