Can I use calcium hydroxide for WCA?
Greetings and love community!
So can I use calcium hydroxide for WCA?
or straight limestone crumble I have for chickens?
would make thinks sooo much easier.
The answer
As said in the Office Hour, I do not believe that calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2 can be used because it will not dissolve the same way in vinegar, and may be hazardous to eat. However, the limestone crumbles can be used directly or used in the Water Soluble Calcium (KNF Reproduction) recipe because it is calcium carbonate CaCO3, which is non hazardous to digest and will dissolve in vinegar.
From the KNF library
From the KNF library
Drafted by Claude from Office Hours and the books
·
Sep 2026
·
4 sources
Calcium hydroxide has no carbon to react with vinegar (Office Hours Ep. 53, 11:31). Drake recommends calcium carbonate, such as eggshells or limestone, instead (Office Hours Ep. 53, 11:31).
Here is how the library makes WCA:
- Mix 1 part eggshells with 10 parts brown rice vinegar by weight (Cho's Solutions, p. 13).
- Let it dissolve for 7 days under a breathable lid (Cho's Solutions, p. 13).
- Add the shells to the vinegar slowly, or the bubbles can overflow (Cho, Recipe, p. 62).
For larger batches, one source allows commercial calcium carbonate, such as crushed coral (KNF Demystified, p. 40).
The library gives these steps for eggshells. It does not say whether chicken limestone needs roasting first.
Sources
- 11:31 Office Hours Ep. 53 (Oct 2022) — Livestock Feed Ratios, Water-Soluble Calcium, Ensiling with IMO4 · “calcium hydroxide has no carbon to react with vinegar; use calcium carbonate like eggshells or limestone instead.”
- p. 62 Cho, Recipe · “Put the roasted eggshells or oyster shells little by little and slowly into the container with BRV.”
- p. 40 KNF Demystified · “For larger batches, commercial sources of calcium carbonate can be used, such as that from crushed coral can be used.”
- p. 13 Cho's Solutions · “Mix 1 part eggshells with 10 parts brown rice vinegar by weight”
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