This is a tangent to the "Influencing Eggshell colour" thread.
ipf said
I found that it is marketed under the commercial name of Calsporin and fed as a premix at the rate of 0.05% or only 30g per ton. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] However I can't seem to find a Canadian company that sells it. I'm wondering if this is another case of CFIA not allowing a feed additive that hasn't been tested here in Canada.
But that can't be right because Dark Wing Duck said,
If Alberta commercial farms are using Calsporin (or something like it) as a feed additive, where can the rest of us buy it? I think using this product in place of a preventative antibiotic would be a good idea.
ipf said
"Within the past 3 years, scientists discovered that B.s. [Bacillus subtilis] C-3102 spores supplemented to laying hen diets can improve brown egg color of brown-egg strains usually within a matter of days. Typically, the initial darker brown colors of eggs produced by pullets gradually fade so that egg colors become lighter brown as hens age (Odabaşi et al., 2007)."
- and -
"Bacillus subtilis C-3102 spores are receiving increased attention as dietary direct-fed microbial (probiotic) performance enhancers for laying hens and breeders because as a feed supplement they typically are effective for improving egg shell thickness and brown egg shell color."
I found that it is marketed under the commercial name of Calsporin and fed as a premix at the rate of 0.05% or only 30g per ton. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] However I can't seem to find a Canadian company that sells it. I'm wondering if this is another case of CFIA not allowing a feed additive that hasn't been tested here in Canada.
But that can't be right because Dark Wing Duck said,
This spring I bought some new "ready to lay" Highland Browns. A few of them had just started laying those little pullet torpedo shaped eggs and they were a dark chalky brown. Just like the ones I've seen in the stores from the commercial farms. I should add that these new birds came from a commercial farm as well.
After a week or so, the little eggs started to loose that almost fake looking painted on colour and took on the normal home grown brown egg colour I'm used to seeing. I figured it was their diet, but I'm not sure exactly what part of their diet is.
If Alberta commercial farms are using Calsporin (or something like it) as a feed additive, where can the rest of us buy it? I think using this product in place of a preventative antibiotic would be a good idea.