⠀ Grit & Oyster Shells

[chickenmudder70]

I was told to put Grit & Oyster Shells in a separate dish and the hens would take as they needed, but what about the Rooster? and I am feeding Layer Feed, and the Rooster is eating that too! is this all okay? I also feed ALL ORGANIC, so not sure if the Organic Brands have a Oyster/Clam Shell mix with the feed, not sure what to do or what to believe when I read it...lol...someone offer advise please...thanks!

 

[PD-Riverman]

I was told to put Grit & Oyster Shells in a separate dish and the hens would take as they needed, but what about the Rooster? and I am feeding Layer Feed, and the Rooster is eating that too! is this all okay? I also feed ALL ORGANIC, so not sure if the Organic Brands have a Oyster/Clam Shell mix with the feed, not sure what to do or what to believe when I read it...lol...someone offer advise please...thanks!

Will not hurt the rooster to eat layer feed, Been feeding my roosters layer feed as long as I can remember getting layer feed----30, 40, 50 years?? And I never buy grit, mine get all they need on the dirt. But its ok if you do.

 

[chickenmudder70]

Okay, thank you, i live in the country and have 7 acres of land, including a small patch of woods, i guess i will see if this bag of grit (big grit good grief) will get ate. If i don't need it, i won't waste $$$ for it. A friend of my husband's told him that they feed their chickens a feed that has oyster stuff already in it and they give them grit on the side well I feed my chickens all organic feed when they are not free-ranging and I have not been able to find anything with oyster shells in it so I went and purchased some oyster shells and big grit separately yesterday but if I don't need the grit with them being out free-ranging then I won't buy any more thank you for letting me know I appreciate your help

 

[Purina]

Great questions, chickenmudder70! You're right, chickens that are not laying eggs should not be fed a laying hen diet. The amount of calcium in a laying hen diet is almost 4 times higher than what a non-laying chicken needs. Feeding that high level of calcium to non-laying birds can lead to kidney damage/failure. For an organic flock, we'd recommend feeding roosters Organic Starter-Grower. With this feed, supplementing with oyster shell is a good idea for your hens, since it won't have the higher level of calcium as a layer feed does.

You can put the Organic Starter-Grower in a separate feeder that is higher up for the roosters to access. It’s not ideal for the rooster to eat layer feed – the calcium is much higher than what he need, but if he tends to eat “his” feed most of the time, then it is not likely to be an issue. This is a common problem when you house roosters and hens together. They have different nutrient requirements but it is difficult to reason with them and to convince them to only eat their feed.

Grit is only necessary if your hens are not allowed to free-range, as they'll pick up tiny stones out and about which serve the same purpose as grit.