I have a section of the yard that I scatter shell, and a section I scatter with grit. It’s basically free choice. I’ve switched to ground up egg shell now since we have plenty of it. We save, then wash and dry out the shells. Then I run them thru the food processor and scatter it in a specific spot. I haven’t had any thin egg problems so far.
1 flock block lasts our 40 waterfowl about a month or more. I’m not likely to put it out much now thru late spring since it’ll just melt in the rain. I’ll probably put one out when it’s dry for a bit, take it out, wait for the next dry day....and so on and so forth. They also get fresh orchard grass, and alfalfa. The ducks and geese (and fur rabbits) prefer grass over almost everything else. One scoop of corn is put out at night now that the weather is turning.
I’m getting 7 eggs a day at the moment. I was getting 5-6, then I changed the way I fed and it went down to 4-5 a day. Once I switched back, it went up to 6-7 a day.
My birds definitely prefer eating shell, grit, and treats off the ground. Those foraging type behaviors are innate, so I encourage it.
No animal (or even human actually) is detrimentally effected by eating healthy fats daily. Fat is quite literally brain food. The brain in virtually all species is made of fat. The fats from nuts and seeds is great for the brain. Refined/sweetened peanut butter, and the like isn’t good in large amounts for anyone. Created lowfat food generally speaking is quite bad for health. The crap they add to make it palatable after removal of fat is worse than the fats they removed.
