Feeding crushed eggshells vs oyster shells

[Ladies-Eight]

Can't speak for Mother Clucker but I wash my shells with running hot water, microwave them then lightly crush them. At that point, they're clean and brittle. My girls aren't going for them for albumen.

I've been told the oyster shell is important for them because it breaks down slower in their bodies and provides a more constant level calcium for new shell production. All I can say is what my hens go for, that they have a choice of both and that they produce sturdy shells.

I wash my eggshells and let them air dry. I don't microwave them. I crush them into small pieces. My chickens like the oyster shell as well as the eggshells.

 

[NatJ]

For those of you feeding eggshells, aren't you afraid of the correlation to them starting to eat their own eggs?

I've always done it my Mom's way: eggshells go with any other food scraps into a bowl, and every day it gets dumped on the ground in the coop or run. When you dump the bowl, if any shells "look like" an egg, step on those ones. So the half-shells get stepped on to break/flatten them, the bits from peeling hard boiled eggs don't need it. Never had any egg-eating problems.

 

[q2jjdscd1]

Can I use oyster shells collected at beach? Will wash with vinegar solution then crush...

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Can I use oyster shells collected at beach? Will wash with vinegar solution then crush...

I don't see why not. The vinegar may begin to break down the calcium but I don't think that will be a problem if you rinse well with plain water after the vinegar wash.,

 

[Kayla's Lunch]

I've found that there are two kinds of oyster shell. The first stuff I got was (from Manna, I believe) small, hard, very white stone-like crumbles. That stuff was expensive -- and only available in small bags I was constantly replacing -- so I went looking for something more affordable. Now I've got a 50# bag of something more porous, grey, flake-like and far closer in appearance to an actual oyster shell.

They go through the cheaper flakey stuff much faster but I suspect that may have something to do with it being more soluble and going through their systems faster.

I have been feeding the Manna Pro Oyster Shell that I get from TSC, which sounds like what you used to feed. Where did you get the gray shell that you are feeding now. I didn't realize that the type of oyster shell mattered.

 

[IamRainey]

I have been feeding the Manna Pro Oyster Shell that I get from TSC, which sounds like what you used to feed. Where did you get the gray shell that you are feeding now. I didn't realize that the type of oyster shell mattered.

I hope it doesn't matter nutritionally for the hens but it's very different.

I got it from my local feed store. 50 pounds of it for just a little more than I was paying for 5 pounds of the Manna stuff. And I'm not running back to the feed store constantly.

 

[aart]

Can I use oyster shells collected at beach? Will wash with vinegar solution then crush...

I might be concerned with salt content....and crushing it without very sharp points/edges

I got it from my local feed store. 50 pounds of it for just a little more than I was paying for 5 pounds of the Manna stuff. And I'm not running back to the feed store constantly.

I get Manna Pro OS in 50# bags at TSC for about $10....lasts a year.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I hope it doesn't matter nutritionally for the hens but it's very different.

I got it from my local feed store. 50 pounds of it for just a little more than I was paying for 5 pounds of the Manna stuff. And I'm not running back to the feed store constantly.

If you read the ingredients, sometimes they are pure crushed oyster shell, sometimes they are a combination of OS and mined limestone.

 

[aart]

If you read the ingredients, sometimes they are pure crushed oyster shell, sometimes they are a combination of OS and mined limestone.

Interesting, don't have a bag right now, but will look when I resupply.
Wonder which is 'better'?
..and always wondered where the OS comes from and how exactly it is processed.
Manna Pro OS website states "Oyster Shell and Coral Calcium"

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I worry about harvesting too much oyster shell from shell fish beds. The only way oysters and other shellfish can get calcium to build their shells is from the oyster shells in the sea beds. There is the chance it can be overharvested. Plain OS is slightly superior due to its particle size and slightly (1%) higher percentage of CaCO3 but most poultry feeds use limestone. It is on the ingredient list and usually just says calcium carbonate.