Do my egg laying hens still need oyster shell

[chickens really]

I feed Grower/Finisher feed. I never use layer feed. I supplied oyster shell in a separate dish.

 

[Wetmorechick]

I have a barred rock rooster who is almost 10 years old and he has eaten layer feed all his long life. I also leave oyster shell out for my girls, year round.

 

[Shadrach]

My hens are older and hardly lay eggs, but now they are done for the season. Do they still need supplements for egg laying even though they are not laying? Thanks!

If your hens are free range then no, they'll get enough calcium from foraging.

 

[chickengeorgeII]

Unfortunately when many people claim that they free range they really mean that their hens have the run of their side yard for a few hours ever day.

Free range means that there are no restrictions of any kind on the free movements of livestock.

This makes it important IMHO for you to offer a dish or cup of grit and oyster shell feed free choice. Anyway, cracked granite grit and to a lesser degree crushed oyster shell will keep for millenniums without any decrease in effectiveness or nutritional value so it seems to me like failing to provide these things is penny wise but Pound foolish..

 

[Shadrach]

Unfortunately when many people claim that they free range they really mean that their hens have the run of their side yard for a few hours ever day.

Free range means that there are no restrictions of any kind on the free movements of livestock.

This makes it important IMHO for you to offer a dish or cup of grit and oyster shell feed free choice. Anyway, cracked granite grit and to a lesser degree crushed oyster shell will keep for millenniums without any decrease in effectiveness or nutritional value so it seems to me like failing to provide these things is penny wise but Pound foolish..

It's an interesting point of view but the OP asked if they 'need' it.
Non laying hens don't, nor do roosters, or chicks.
It's got nothing to do with the money.

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are studies that show that too much calcium CAN lead to medical problems in growing chicks and roosters. I don't know of any studies made on non-laying hens but you would guess they would be similar. CAN does not mean they take one bite and fall over dead. CAN does not mean each and every one is affected, but some are. The damage does not always lead to death but can mean weaker immune systems or that they are less thrifty.

One bite will not kill them. How many total grams of calcium they eat in a day averaged over many weeks or months is what is important. The more low-calcium food they get by foraging or your feeding them low-calcium treats the less the excessive calcium in Layer will affect them.

Chickens can get some calcium from their environment. How much depends on that environment. Some plants they eat or creepy crawlies they catch can provide some calcium. If the native rock is calcium-rich like limestone they can often get all the calcium they need from that. If the rock is not calcium-rich then the native rock is not a source.

We don't all keep our chickens in the same identical circumstances, we are all unique. This stuff is not all absolute, there is a lot of "it depends" involved.

@shannon84 , I'm guessing by supplements you are talking about calcium, if you mean something else let us know. Most chickens seem to know how much calcium they need. If they need it they tend to eat more of the supplemental calcium. If they don't need it they tend to not eat enough to hurt themselves. I don't see any issues with offering a calcium supplement on the side and let them manage it. My way to handle all the unknowns and "it depends" is to feed them a low-calcium feed with oyster shell on the side. That way I don't have to stress over it.

You may have another issue. When hens get older not only can egg-laying decrease but egg quality can maybe sometimes occasionally might drop. That might mean thinner egg shells among other changes. That does not always happen to absolutely every hen but it is something you might observe that has nothing to do with how much calcium they eat. As we or they age the body sometimes changes.

Good luck with it.

 

[Shadrach]

There are studies that show that too much calcium CAN lead to medical problems in growing chicks and roosters. I don't know of any studies made on non-laying hens but you would guess they would be similar. CAN does not mean they take one bite and fall over dead. CAN does not mean each and every one is affected, but some are. The damage does not always lead to death but can mean weaker immune systems or that they are less thrifty.

One bite will not kill them. How many total grams of calcium they eat in a day averaged over many weeks or months is what is important. The more low-calcium food they get by foraging or your feeding them low-calcium treats the less the excessive calcium in Layer will affect them.

Chickens can get some calcium from their environment. How much depends on that environment. Some plants they eat or creepy crawlies they catch can provide some calcium. If the native rock is calcium-rich like limestone they can often get all the calcium they need from that. If the rock is not calcium-rich then the native rock is not a source.

We don't all keep our chickens in the same identical circumstances, we are all unique. This stuff is not all absolute, there is a lot of "it depends" involved.

@shannon84 , I'm guessing by supplements you are talking about calcium, if you mean something else let us know. Most chickens seem to know how much calcium they need. If they need it they tend to eat more of the supplemental calcium. If they don't need it they tend to not eat enough to hurt themselves. I don't see any issues with offering a calcium supplement on the side and let them manage it. My way to handle all the unknowns and "it depends" is to feed them a low-calcium feed with oyster shell on the side. That way I don't have to stress over it.

You may have another issue. When hens get older not only can egg-laying decrease but egg quality can maybe sometimes occasionally might drop. That might mean thinner egg shells among other changes. That does not always happen to absolutely every hen but it is something you might observe that has nothing to do with how much calcium they eat. As we or they age the body sometimes changes.

Good luck with it.

Oh great. I'm looking for some studies on this very subject at the moment.
I've found a few on the effects on the parathyroid gland and a couple on hypercalcemia
but direct studies on the long term effects on chickens I'm finding difficult to locate.
Would you be kind enough to link me to any studies you've found please?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Here are a couple on calcium and growing chicks. I used to have others but the links don't work anymore.

I don't have the one on the roosters. If I remember right it was @bobbi-j that had the link. But then it may have been @ChickenCanoe My memory is not always as good as I think it used to be.

Avian Gout

http://en.engormix.com/MA-poultry-i.../avian-gout-causes-treatment-t1246/165-p0.htm


British Study – Calcium and Protein

http://www.2ndchance.info/goutGuoHighProtein+Ca.pdf

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I don't feed them laying feed just because of my rooster, I was told it's hard for his kidneys. Is that true? I feel torn on what to do for him and the girls

Since they're older and not laying well and you have a rooster, I would not feed layer. Just OS on the side will be sufficient. Even if you didn't have a rooster, hens that have shut down for the winter shouldn't have layer feed either. Any bird not producing eggs (building shells) whether that be chicks, roosters, old spent hens, molting hens, etc. do just fine on 1% calcium. Layer feed of approximately 4% calcium is excessive for such birds.
ETA
To carry that train of thought a bit further, since all chickens utilize about 1% calcium for growth and maintenance, the fact that a bird lays eggs doesn't mean that 4% is appropriate for all of them either. What they need is generally commensurate with production.
A bird that lays an egg once every week or two, may not need any additional calcium. A bird that lays every day virtually non-stop, most likely needs more than the calcium in layer feed. Hence the need to provide oyster shell in a separate container so they can self regulate.
One size does not fit all.