Alternative to oyster shell?

[MissChick@dee]

My chickens don't eat much Oyster shell, but I feed them layer feed. I have used only 2 pounds out of a 5 pound bag in 3 years, with about 12 laying hens. I did have a time when the pullets were starting to lay that I was getting a lot of broken eggs that were eaten. Either they were stepping on them or just too rough moving them about trying to get set to lay and they cracked teh eggs already in the nest, I do not know. It was only for about a month.

Perhaps you could add shell powder to feed or treats. Sometimes chickens get stuck on stupid and don’t know what’s good for them.

 

[Abriana]

I would purchase oyster shell and grit together, and then just buy a bag of grit separately. Non-laying birds and roosters should have a grit option without having to eat the calcium, its hard on their kidneys. Since they don't consume it like they would feed, it doesn't take a large bag of either grit or OS. Personally I'd just buy the one with OS and grit mixed in, and then provide a small dish of just grit next to it.

 

[Notaneggspurt]

I have a glass pie plate I save my shells in. It goes into the oven whenever is being used. After they cool off into an old pickle jar to be crushed up. We never ran out of crushed shells for 9 hens. When I'd get more than a jar saved up the oldest would go into the garden.

 

[Better Than Rubies]

When my hens were young new layers, I didn't have oyster shell on hand to give them, so I gave them their own or other birds' eggshells back to them. They loved the eggshells, and never ate their own eggs despite getting it.
But then I finally bought a small 5-pound bag of oyster shell, 'cause it was a hassle giving them the eggshells, and disgusting after so long, too, and they refuse to eat the oyster shell, lol. I still have a very full bag of it. And come to find out, sort of, if their feed is a complete feed, like the regular bag I get mine, then they really don't need supplemental calcium, because the feed is formulated specially to meet all their needs.
That's my input on this.

 

[Fishkeeper]

If that's the case, why does just about everyone else give their chickens calcium, and why are yours eating the eggshells? Might be they just don't like the oyster shell.

 

[aart]

But then I finally bought a small 5-pound bag of oyster shell, 'cause it was a hassle giving them the eggshells, and disgusting after so long, too, and they refuse to eat the oyster shell, lol. I still have a very full bag of it.

If they don't 'get it'...you have to 'fool' them.
Have had to do that with new layers at times.
Sprinkle a bit on the ground along with their scratch grains.
Sprinkle a bit on top of feed.
Sprinkle a bit of scratch grains on top of OS feeder.

 

[Better Than Rubies]

Sprinkle a bit on top of feed.

I have done that, and to my knowledge, they still intentionally avoided eating it. So either they really just DON'T like it, or they don't need it.

 

[Meg-in-MT]

I rinse my eggs, let them dry for a day and crush them up in a plastic bag. Then put them in my handy dandy feeder.

 

[Tevyes Dad]

I know my experience is with ducks, not chickens, but I found my ducks wouldn't eat the oyster shell that looks like rocks such as:

At Murdochs this is $7 for 7 lbs. 7 lbs would last me forever because they don't eat it at all.

They absolutely love this one which is more like flakes and they nibble a bit each time they eat:

This is $16 for 50 lbs, also at Murdochs, so it is much cheaper / lb. My 13 ducks (2 are drakes) go through about 50lbs / year.

I don't know why they prefer it, but they definitely do.

 

[Tevyes Dad]

Here is a picture of the actual oyster shell:

and the dux: