and contrary to what many believe you dont need oyster shell unless you are shipping eggs, regular grit if fine, even though people swear by oyster shell and its much cheaper
Chicken Scratch
- Thread starter Suess hens
- Start date
Unless I'm mistaken grit and oyster shell are two different things for two different purposes. Grit is for digestion and oyster shell is for calcium. Oyster shell is not the same as grit.
Even though I feed my hens layer mix, which is supposed to have enough calcium, I get thin shelled eggs and occasionally an egg without a shell. My birds range at least half the day and I suspect with all the extra food in the form of little critters, seeds, and weeds they are not getting enough calcium so I supplement with oyster shell. They get their grit from the soil where they range.
If they are eating anything besides processed feed like a commercial feed they will need grit. If your egg shells are thin you may need oyster shell.
Even though I feed my hens layer mix, which is supposed to have enough calcium, I get thin shelled eggs and occasionally an egg without a shell. My birds range at least half the day and I suspect with all the extra food in the form of little critters, seeds, and weeds they are not getting enough calcium so I supplement with oyster shell. They get their grit from the soil where they range.
If they are eating anything besides processed feed like a commercial feed they will need grit. If your egg shells are thin you may need oyster shell.
im not sure what you are feeding but i look in the igredients to see whats all in it and look at the calcium. and there is no problem with mine which leads me to think what other mixtures there are out there where normal grit just isnt working for other people, i have no problem with ulta thin shells or no shells. but i also dont want a shell so hard that i need to break it on the concrete or use a hammer on it. the only way i have ever found that oyster shell should ever be used is if you are shipping them.
Our small flock are "working girls" (yes, pun intended).
Our 8 Laying hens and two chicks free-range on most days over about an acre of land. They have 24/7 access to laying pellets in a 3 gallon feeder. Also have the chick-feed on the ground in their "room" of the coop. Depending on the weather, it needs to be refilled once or twice a week. They have one of those 24" hanging metal trays that I keep filled with oyster shell, so it's there when they want it. We also will put the empty egg-shells from the kitchen into the tray, and they will consume those first. I also put down a 1 pound coffee can of scratch three or four days a week. Our coop is set directly on the gound, which is mostly sand. Kitchen scraps go to the chickens as they happen. (I personally don't feed them meat products, but I know some people do.) I go thru about 25 pounds of scratch for every 50 pound sack of pellets.
Since your birds are much younger, I would give them the "grower feed" until they get close to laying age. I've been told that switching them too early will cause them problems, and that waiting until after they start laying to make the switch MIGHT also cause a problem. I don't know for sure, but I'm certain that others on the board can give you better information on when to make that switch. I think your best bet would be to consult your local County Extension Office, and they will know, or be able to find out, what's available locally, and what would be the best feed for your growing flock.
I too, have had the shell-less or brittle-shelled eggs. Once I started leaving the oyster shell out where they could get it as they pleased, I haven't had a single occurance. With sand floors in the coop, I don't need to provide grit, even for the chicks (or so I'm told).
I tried feeding only the laying pellets, and got 4-5 eggs a day, from 7 hens. Once I started supplimenting with scratch every other day, their production went up to 6-7 eggs a day, even the occasional 8 egg day. Not shabby for "low-maintenance" birds.
As for whether or not you can feed ONLY scratch, it would solely depend upon what the make-up of the scratch was. I've been told by the local feed store that the pre-mixed stuff they offer is fairly close to a complete diet for them. I haven't compared labels and such to find out for myself.
I can tell you this-- The amount of feed that they eat now that they free-range is about half of what they used when I had to keep them locked up in the run, their production is still at 6-7 eggs a day, and we now have 2-week old chicks ranging with the flock and not being bothered by the other hens.
Kathy
Our 8 Laying hens and two chicks free-range on most days over about an acre of land. They have 24/7 access to laying pellets in a 3 gallon feeder. Also have the chick-feed on the ground in their "room" of the coop. Depending on the weather, it needs to be refilled once or twice a week. They have one of those 24" hanging metal trays that I keep filled with oyster shell, so it's there when they want it. We also will put the empty egg-shells from the kitchen into the tray, and they will consume those first. I also put down a 1 pound coffee can of scratch three or four days a week. Our coop is set directly on the gound, which is mostly sand. Kitchen scraps go to the chickens as they happen. (I personally don't feed them meat products, but I know some people do.) I go thru about 25 pounds of scratch for every 50 pound sack of pellets.
Since your birds are much younger, I would give them the "grower feed" until they get close to laying age. I've been told that switching them too early will cause them problems, and that waiting until after they start laying to make the switch MIGHT also cause a problem. I don't know for sure, but I'm certain that others on the board can give you better information on when to make that switch. I think your best bet would be to consult your local County Extension Office, and they will know, or be able to find out, what's available locally, and what would be the best feed for your growing flock.
I too, have had the shell-less or brittle-shelled eggs. Once I started leaving the oyster shell out where they could get it as they pleased, I haven't had a single occurance. With sand floors in the coop, I don't need to provide grit, even for the chicks (or so I'm told).
I tried feeding only the laying pellets, and got 4-5 eggs a day, from 7 hens. Once I started supplimenting with scratch every other day, their production went up to 6-7 eggs a day, even the occasional 8 egg day. Not shabby for "low-maintenance" birds.
As for whether or not you can feed ONLY scratch, it would solely depend upon what the make-up of the scratch was. I've been told by the local feed store that the pre-mixed stuff they offer is fairly close to a complete diet for them. I haven't compared labels and such to find out for myself.
I can tell you this-- The amount of feed that they eat now that they free-range is about half of what they used when I had to keep them locked up in the run, their production is still at 6-7 eggs a day, and we now have 2-week old chicks ranging with the flock and not being bothered by the other hens.
Kathy
Quote:
That's interesting....I always thought my egg yolks got their deep orange color from feeding corn?....But I did have wheat in my scratch too??
Nothing wrong with feeding scratch..Thats what made chickens so popular in the old days You could feed them scratch and they still produce good meat and eggs!
That's interesting....I always thought my egg yolks got their deep orange color from feeding corn?....But I did have wheat in my scratch too??
Nothing wrong with feeding scratch..Thats what made chickens so popular in the old days You could feed them scratch and they still produce good meat and eggs!
If they're getting good nutrition from the other feed, plus treats, I've found my girls aren't really into scratch that much. It's more recreational, in that they seem to enjoy pecking it off the ground and doing what it's intended for, scratching around in the dirt, looking for it. I also notice that they high-grade it, and pick out stuff other than the corn, on the first pass through.
Quote:
that's different, mine pick out the corn, and leave the other stuff. Perhaps the type of bird and the different climate might be factors as well. BTY I love the cool breeze, and temperate weather of bay area.
that's different, mine pick out the corn, and leave the other stuff. Perhaps the type of bird and the different climate might be factors as well. BTY I love the cool breeze, and temperate weather of bay area.
From another post on another forum.
Chickens do not have teeth. Their food goes, as is, into the crop, where it is slowly funneled into a very small " stomach" for some digestive additives--then to the Gizzard, where it is 'chewed', that is, ground into material that can be digested as it moves into the intestines and so on. The Gizzard is best able to break down whole grains and other chunky bits that they eat when full of grit. Longest lasting grit is Granite, that lasts well. All other rock and stone is so much softer, that it wears down fast and that is why granite grit is best choice, works really well for best utilization of feeds. My baby chicks are given free choice and they choose it with pleasure, baby grit is fine Granite, as soon as they are given anything besides Starter Crumbles. Their tiny gizzards are at optimum function at an early age.
Oyster shells can act as grit to an extent, but young birds who are not laying should not have oyster shell. Grit that is usually granite grit, does the job much better than oyster shell, which really isn't that hard. Grit grinds the Oyster Shell. While the gizzard is an amazingly strong organ, the Grit is a part of its function. Also, if they free range they will eat dirt for grit, but I always have a dish of granite grit and a dish of oyster shells near their food.
Chickens do not have teeth. Their food goes, as is, into the crop, where it is slowly funneled into a very small " stomach" for some digestive additives--then to the Gizzard, where it is 'chewed', that is, ground into material that can be digested as it moves into the intestines and so on. The Gizzard is best able to break down whole grains and other chunky bits that they eat when full of grit. Longest lasting grit is Granite, that lasts well. All other rock and stone is so much softer, that it wears down fast and that is why granite grit is best choice, works really well for best utilization of feeds. My baby chicks are given free choice and they choose it with pleasure, baby grit is fine Granite, as soon as they are given anything besides Starter Crumbles. Their tiny gizzards are at optimum function at an early age.
Oyster shells can act as grit to an extent, but young birds who are not laying should not have oyster shell. Grit that is usually granite grit, does the job much better than oyster shell, which really isn't that hard. Grit grinds the Oyster Shell. While the gizzard is an amazingly strong organ, the Grit is a part of its function. Also, if they free range they will eat dirt for grit, but I always have a dish of granite grit and a dish of oyster shells near their food.
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