Cant give oyster shells

[macdaddy]

I've always baked the egg shells till dry then roughly crushed up into small bits. Not recognisable as egg shell to chooks then. Never had any egg eaters < touches wood>

 

[<3 N.C Chicken Chick <3]

Quote:
I heard that you have to grind it up into powder then I bet that you could put it on or mix it into something

don't grind my egg shells. Just give them a quick crush with my hand. Also don't microwave them, bake them, or any of the other things people advise to do. I also feed them scrambled eggs. We call it "recycling"

Old eggs into new eggs!

Good 2 know

 

[LiLRedCV]

Quote:
I heard that you have to grind it up into powder then I bet that you could put it on or mix it into something

don't grind my egg shells. Just give them a quick crush with my hand. Also don't microwave them, bake them, or any of the other things people advise to do. I also feed them scrambled eggs. We call it "recycling"

Old eggs into new eggs!

I just give them a quick crush too. Sometimes, but not always, I allow them to sit for a day or so to dry before feeding them back, but that's more for a matter of convenience for me than for the flock. (if they're a bit dry, they don't stick to my hands as much) I don't grind them. I don't bake them. I don't microwave them. They're usually mixed in with fruit and veggie scraps I'm tossing out for the girls as a treat, but that's only if I have those on hand. Otherwise, I just toss them out into the run and they eat what they want/need from there. If the flock doesn't eat them all? Well, they're just added nutrients for the soil.

 

[<3 N.C Chicken Chick <3]

Quote:
don't grind my egg shells. Just give them a quick crush with my hand. Also don't microwave them, bake them, or any of the other things people advise to do. I also feed them scrambled eggs. We call it "recycling"

Old eggs into new eggs!

I just give them a quick crush too. Sometimes, but not always, I allow them to sit for a day or so to dry before feeding them back, but that's more for a matter of convenience for me than for the flock. (if they're a bit dry, they don't stick to my hands as much) I don't grind them. I don't bake them. I don't microwave them. They're usually mixed in with fruit and veggie scraps I'm tossing out for the girls as a treat, but that's only if I have those on hand. Otherwise, I just toss them out into the run and they eat what they want/need from there. If the flock doesn't eat them all? Well, they're just added nutrients for the soil.

Cool My chicknes just started laying its great to know about the egg shell thing

 

[Martha80]

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I inquired about that also... was told that we don't eat the pearl... so no it isn't unclean ... but once the shell is degested into the chicken and becomes apart of the egg it is unclean to eat... idk i just dont want to take chances with it!! i would rather not give it to them and be safe


I'm not Jewish but I do like a good discussion! The logic of your Rabbi, that a pearl is ok because it is not eaten, then follows, that the calcium source for the eggshell is ok because it is also not eaten.

From the posts on here it is obvious that you have many options other than oyster shell.

 

[annageckos]

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Spinach, while high in calcium, also has a high concentration of oxalate. Oxalate inhibits the absorption of calcium. It isn't recommended to give much spinach for this reason. Here and there as a treat is fine, but don't count on it for the calcium.

 

[Chinchilla2]

I think I understand the situation here. You cannot feed oyster shells to the chickens as a calcium source since your religion views the oyster as an unclean (yes, not the actual religious word but close enough, my humble apologies for the generalization). If they eat the shell, they then take into their body the uncleanliness and anything they produce, such as the eggs or a fried chicken dinner, would be unclean. The chicken, in a sense, would be the middle man.

There are two ways one can go about this. The first is to use an alternate source of calcium. The easiest one is to recycle the egg shells. I let mine sit for a hour or so on the counter (no washing at all) and then smash them with the palm of my hand on a cutting board. Some pieces will be really little, others about the size of a dime. In other words, I make a eggshell jigsaw puzzle. These, complete with any dried egg that may be on them, get tossed into the feed bucket on my next trip to the coop. Double check the ingredients on your feed as well. It may already have a calcium supplement in it. Also check with your feed supply store. I can purchase crushed limestone and granite combo so they get calcium and grit all at the same time. The limestone is made from calcium carbonate, the same stuff the oyster shells are made of.

Dairy products like yogurt, cheese, etc. and green leafy vegetables also contain calcium. The same with bones. I would get with the feed store on that as well. Some places will carry beef bone meal as a dietary supplement for livestock. They also carry pork and unknown assorted combo bone meal but if oyster shell is not allowed, definitely confirm the source content before you pick this option. This may also solve the oyster shell dilemma while giving you a way to provide extra calcium.

Also, double check with your rabbi. It is not the meat of the animal but a hard outer surface that protects the soft body of the creature. Since the chickens would not be eating the oyster but the oyster SHELL, using just the shell may not cause a dietary problem. If you were tossing the whole oyster out there it would be one thing but just tossing the shell out there may be okay. I do know that some of the original dyes used for garments during the time of the Old Testament were made from crushed sea creature shell (believe a purple, a blue, and a red) and the shell, especially as cleaned and processed as oyster shell is, may actually be okay once the processing is explained.

Good luck with it.

 

[Alice EG]

I don't use oyster shells at all, and my chickens' eggs always have a nice, thick shell. In addition to their pellets, I feed black oil sunflower seeds, plain yogurt, cheese, egg shells, and a variety of vegetables(not all at once, mind you, I mix it up). If you can't or don't want to use oyster shells, that's perfectly fine. There are so many other options that it shouldn't even be an issue.

 

[vclark321]

I keep the eggshells and put them in the oven on a low temp for about 15 or 20 minutes and then crush them to bits. I mix it up in other treats, or combine it with other food, but have never had a problem with egg eating. Good luck!

 

[Farm_Maven]

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Because in my religion OYSTERS are unclean.... we eat kosher, if the chickens eat the oyster shells, then they become unclean and cannot be eaten!

Sorry - that is NOT halacha - the law. Oysters may not be eaten by people because anything which crawls on the ocean floor is not a kosher animal. Food from the sea must have gills and scales. Unclean is a badly translated term.

Chickens eat bugs, worms, frogs...and almost anything else when free ranging and this does not make the chicken, nor the eggs unkosher. In fact, the only law of kashrut which applies to eggs is that if the egg has a blood spot (fertile egg) then it must be considered meat and not parve.

The issue is having a nonkosher substance in the house or on the property. Follow the recommendations concerning calcium supplements other than shells and you'll be fine!

BTW: At 9 weeks old, you need not worry right away - they'll need extra calcium only when they are closer to laying age.

just my 2 cents......

Blood spot doesn't indicate fertility of egg. It's a hiccup in the egg producing apparatus,(minute rupture, etc.)