Pigging Out on Mussels

From May, 1997 (Update #30)

Ohio State University researcher Mike Lilburn has reported that ground zebra mussel shells are an adequate source of calcium in the diets of quail hens, turkeys and pigs. He conducted growth tests at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster, Ohio, in which zebra mussels shells were substituted for ground limestone as a source of dietary calcium for newborn animals. Lilburn noted zebra mussel shells have a similar chemical composition and solubility as ground limestone, both of which are about 40% calcium. Previous investigations have indicated that marine calcium sources, such as oyster and clam shells, were similar to limestone in their effects on egg production traits. Lilburn said that the major reason people don't use zebra mussel shells in animal feed is "it would be competing with limestone, and by the time you get the mussel out of the shell you couldn't compete with the price of limestone." Results of three separate growth studies conducted by Lilburn indicated ground zebra mussel shell may be included in the diets of weanling pigs or egg- producing poultry without a significant reduction in growth performance. Final project reports have been completed for the Ohio Water Development Agency, which funded these studies, and an abstract has been published in the Journal of Animal Science, 74(1):184. Details of these studies are available from Mike Lilburn (330) 263-3922, email lilbrun.1@osu.edu.

ID: 199705-10.

The Zebra Mussel Update was a 4- to 8-page quarterly national newsletter published by the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute from May 1990 through May 1997. The ZMU documented the spread of the zebra mussel -- an exotic nuisance mussel -- through North America's freshwater environments, especially the Great Lakes, and on efforts to control it.