eggshell?

[JNC]

Do you have a TSC or Rual King that ships? I got a 50lb bag from TSC for $12 and I know rual king has it too.

 

[kelzey]

Do you have a TSC or Rual King that ships? I got a 50lb bag from TSC for $12 and I know rual king has it too.

i don’t have anything like that near me, sadly. i live in such a small town- i’ve looked it up and the nearest store that sells any kinda livestock supplies is at least 3/4 hours away

 

[JNC]

i don’t have anything like that near me, sadly. i live in such a small town- i’ve looked it up and the nearest store that sells any kinda livestock supplies is at least 3/4 hours away

I wish I could ship you some. Do you know a friend or anyone that might be willing to get ship some? I would keep giving them the egg shells. Hopefully we can figure something out. I’m scared of cross contamination.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

i don’t have anything like that near me, sadly. i live in such a small town- i’ve looked it up and the nearest store that sells any kinda livestock supplies is at least 3/4 hours away

I don't suppose... these people are anywhere nearby, or that you might have a local restaurant using their product, where you might obtain some oyster shell on the cheap without needing to mail order or make a lengthy drive? Most of the time, your chicks will eat very little of the stuff - even my flock of roughly 30, not using layer feed, barely makes a dent in the 50# bag I bought over each season. Literally a large handful of oyster shells, smashed by hammer or maul (wear eye and hand protection) should provide all the extra calcium your flock needs for a long time. You can also use mussel shells, you would just need more of them, as they are much thinner. Calcium Carbonate is what you are trying to make available for your birds.

 

[LilRedmamma]

i don’t have access to a farm store of any kind (the closest is probably like 4/5 hours away) and i find that oyster shell is just soooo expensive on amazon? i know that it’s necessary, but yeah. i’ve been saving up leftover eggshell from my girls eggs and i’ve been wanting to give it to them (baked and crushed up) but i’m just so worried that they will eat too much of it? especially my top hen, she’s basically a pig in a chicken costume. i’ve given them bits of eggshell just on the ground sometimes but they go sooo crazy for it, is too much calcium possible like this? or does anyone have a link to some affordable oyster shell on amazon or another site? i’m in canada so it needs to be accessible to me. and please don’t yell at me for not giving extra calcium to my girls right away, i’m trying my best. would it be okay for me to just give them a bowl of crushed eggshell until i have the means to order some oyster? they don’t have any issues with laying eggs even if they don’t have the extra calcium- sometimes they lay funny eggs but i’ve only gotten 3 of them out of 3/4 dozen that i’ve gotten from my three girls, and even then i know that funny ones are normal every now and again.

This is amusing at myself because I was so careful to wash the shells, chop them up fine, put them in a bowl, etc. I learned quickly my girls could care less if I did any of that! Now, I rinse and give... in table scraps and tossed on the chick's run (dirtfloor), or in a big pan, whatever is handy. They scavenge and peck till it's devoured, happily return to their scratching routines. Also, I fill up half a concrete block with oyster shells and grit and sand that they peck on too. I do not cook the shells. The idea of cooking is to eliminate any odor they'll recognize their eggs as food; I microwave them so they're crunchy, not goopy. Without teeth (hence the grit) chickens swallow so fast they don't taste the shells if they were "theirs".
I use Amazon Prime : free shipping, connects with the TV plan. TractorSupplyCo ships to homes.
They won't overeat calcium, don't worry