Hatched™ Crushed Eggshell - 100% Pure Eggshell
Calcium
Are you tired of baking and crushing eggshells for
your birds? Now you no longer need to! Introducing Hatched™ Crushed Eggshell - 100% Pure Eggshell Calcium.
Hatched™ Crushed Eggshell
is a superior, completely safe way to provide your pets with the
proper amount of calcium by letting the birds decide how much they
need!
See the article Natural Calcium for Your Birds
by Cathy DeHann
Natural Calcium for Your Birds
Sources and Absorbability
by Cathy DeHaan
"Twin Beaks® neither encourages nor discourages the
use of medicines, supplements or vitamins. We have just alternately
chosen to practice prevention and provide naturally and
organically, rather than manufactured."
While most bird keepers are aware of the
repercussions of a calcium-deficient diet, many are uninformed of
the dangers of too much calcium. Excess calcium from supplements,
fortified foods and high-calcium diets, can cause the "milk alkali
syndrome," which has serious toxicity and can be fatal.
Excessive calcium intake can lead to hypercalcaemia (an elevated
calcium level in the blood), complications of which include
vomiting, abdominal pain and altered mental status.1 High calcium
intakes can lead to constipation, an increased chance for developing
calcium kidney stones, and may inhibit the absorption of iron and
zinc from food.2 Too much calcium can cause the shell glands in the
uterus to over-produce calcium, sometimes making the shells to
adhere to the uterus, making it difficult (if not impossible ) for
the hen to lay the egg.
Symptoms of Hypocalcaemia (low calcium) are:
- Poor eggshell formation
- Poor bone health
- Unhealthy heart
- Seizures
- Nervousness
Symptoms of Hypercalcaemia (elevated calcium levels) are:
- Calcification of the kidneys
- Proventriculus
- Lameness
- Chicks unable to hatch out of shell
- Constipation
- Abdominal pain
Twin Beaks® Aviary’s practice of allowing birds
free choice (what, when and how much) is especially conducive in
regards to proper calcium intake, as problems can arise from both
providing too little and too much calcium in their
diet.
Food sources of Calcium for your bird are:
- Dark green, leafy vegetables
- Broccoli
- Yogurt
- Tofu
- Dandelion (found in abundance in
Herb Salad™)
- Oatstraw (found in abundance in
Herb Salad™)
- Marshmallow root
Popular supplemental sources of Calcium for your bird are:
- Eggshell*
- Oyster shell
- Cuttlefish bone
- Mineral block
*Transporter proteins in eggshell calcium significantly
enhance bioavailability making eggshell
calcium 20% more absorbable than other forms of
calcium carbonate. In addition, natural ultra-refined eggshell calcium
avoids typical digestive discomfort.4
Adequate vitamin D3, phosphorous and magnesium intake
is necessary to enable proper calcium absorption. Commercial
supplements and additives are one way of providing these
nutrients, a natural and organic diet plus sufficient sunlight, is another.
Several rich sources of magnesium for your bird are:
- Sunflower seed
- Nuts
- Dark green, leafy vegetables, i.e. broccoli, spinach
- Soybean
- Corn and cornmeal
- Apples
- Oatstraw (found in abundance in Herb Salad ™)
- Plantain (also found in abundance in Herb Salad ™)
Vitamin D is naturally available in only a few foods.
It can be difficult
to get all the vitamin D needed from food alone. Full
spectrum lighting such as blacklights and Vita-Lites
provide effective and adequate supplementation to sunlight.
Sources of Vitamin D are:
- Sunlight*
- Full-spectrum lighting**
- Fish oil
- Egg yolk
*While window glass absorbs a lot of the necessary
ultraviolet radiation needed to form Vitamin D, sunlight does
pass through glass. The Sun emits ultraviolet radiation in the
UVA, UVB, and UVC bands, but because of absorption in the
atmosphere’s ozone layer, 98.7% of the ultraviolet radiation
that reaches the Earth’s surface is UVA.
Ordinary glass is partially transparent to UVA but is opaque to
shorter wavelengths. Ordinary window glass
passes about 90% of the light above 350 nm,
but blocks over 90% of the light below 300 nm.
UVA (sunlight, blacklight) falls in the 400nm – 320-nm range.5,
6, 7
**Incandescent lighting marketed as full spectrum can produce
the same beneficial lighting as that produced by specially
designed fluorescent bulbs. This is untrue: Incandescent lights
provide a general lighting solution for work areas and living spaces. They are not full spectrum.
"Successful bird-keeping and breeding is quite possible through
proper housing, complete, balanced, and natural-food diets, and
appropriate mate selection."
References:
Ilan Gabriely et al, N Engl J Med, 1 May 2008, 358(18):19521.
9/04 AZ1042 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE
TUCSON, ARIZONA 857212.
Daengprok W, Garnjanagoonchorn W, Naivikul O, Pornsinlpatip
P, Issigonis K and Mine Y: Chicken 3.
eggshell matrix proteins enhance transport in the human
intestinal epithelial cells. (J
Agric Food Chem 2003, 51:6056-6061)
Schaafsma A and Beelen GM: Eggshell
calcium is a comparable or better source of calcium than
purified 4.
calcium carbonate.J Sci Food Agric 1999, 79:
1596-1600)
"Soda Lime Glass Transmission Curve" www.sinclairmfg.com/datasheets/sodalimecurve.html5.
"B270-Superwite Glass Transmission Curve" www.pgo-online.com/intl/katalog/curves/B270_kurve.html6.
"Selected Float Glass Transmission Curve" www.pgo-online.com/intl/katalog/curves/whitefl_kurve.html7.
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