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Two Questions Which Need to be Answered

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Chicken_Lover4567

Chicken_Lover4567

Songster
11 Years
Jun 22, 2008
651
14
141
Central Texas
Ok. Question 1:
Should scratch be a daily thing, or only occasionally? Right now in Texas it gets pretty cold, and my girls are about 14 weeks old.
Question 2:
When should I start feeding them oyster shells? Once I find the first egg, or at a certain age?
 
I think the grit (oyster shell) issue depends on what the chicks are eating. When ours began having access to other foods or treats besides grower pellets, I made oyster shell available to them, and they've been eating it and doing fine.
 
Actually grit and oyster shell are two totally different things.

Grit is used to help chickens 'chew' their food. They should be offered free choice grit unless they have daily access to the dirt ground. They can get grit through pieces of sand or very small pebbles.

Oyster shell is to help with calcium to give their eggs a hard shell. They should be offered oyster shell free choice once they start laying eggs.
 
Wow, that's interesting! Our feed store told us the oyster shell WAS grit - now I'll have to go back there and "have a chat". But I wonder why our girls have done fine through the yrs...maybe because generally they're free range, except for the younger pullets. Thanks for the heads up.
 
Quote:
Feed stores are notorious for giving bad advice. What Chirpy says is true. I don't offer grit. Mine free-range and find plenty on their own. I do offer oyster shell to help the girls replace the calcium they are putting into their eggs.
 
I wonder why our girls have done fine through the yrs...maybe because generally they're free range

Yes, if they free range they don't ever need grit. They'll get all they need from the ground.


It's been surprising to me how many people here have said that their feed store doesn't know the difference between grit and oyster shell... even that there is a difference.​
 
So for our younger pullets who are only in an enclosed run for their outdoor experience (at this time, until we mix the flocks), we should be adding some grit for them so they can process the garden goodies we share. That's good to know - many thanks! The funny part is, the guy at the feed store was raising his own flock of layers
idunno.gif
 
I'll need to move some handfuls of the abandoned driveway gravel from across the road into the chicken run. (It's had a few years for rain to wash away engine oil.)
 

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