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gailbelanger
Chirping
Thank you. I didn't realize chickens were that smart, my bad.As noted above- Oyster shell and grit perform very different functions. Do not mix either with their food. The birds will be able to tell when they need either and mixing into their food forces it on them whether they need it or not.
Grit: Accumulates in the chicken gizzard and acts like teeth. The gizzard is just a muscular chamber that uses the grit to "chew" natural food (that is anything other than pellet feed which breaks down in water).
Chickens don't have teeth. Their beak can only grab or tear food. The food then accumulates in the crop (temporary storage) and then moves on to the gizzard for "chewing" before going to the stomach. Chickens naturally can pick up grit when free ranging, but if you have any concerns about them having sufficient access, then offering it on the side is cheap insurance for their health.
Oyster/egg shells: Provides supplementary calcium for laying hens. Much like you have a natural desire for salt (based on your body's need), chickens that need additional calcium will peck at the oyster/egg shell if needed. 4% is a minimum need for laying hens, but some will want/need more.
Also, please do not feed layer mix to non-layers (young pullets, old non-laying hens, roosters). Excess calcium can cause very painful conditions for them. If you have a mixed flock, then it is better to offer a regular feed and offer plenty of calcium on the side.
The babies get crumbles, and my hens are 7 months old and get layer pellets.
Unfortunately there are 6 roosters out of the 53 who are eating layer pellets also. I'm thinking of somehow separating them and feeding them meat chicken food, they are a a dual purpose breed.
I am re-homing a couple. I thought I'd like to keep one of each breed, RIR, Speckled Sussex, just in case I want to try my hand at hatching some. But all of them together are hurting my girls and I'm not happy with that and neither are they.
I did have one hen develop sour crop and even though she lived she'll never be the same. Her crop is way to big and in the morning she looks like she's trying to throw up a hairball, which kind of makes me worried. That's what started me on my quest to find out more about oyster shell and grit.
I do leave food out all day and pick it up at night. Someone told me they should have a full crop at night and an empty one in the morning and that would help with things like sour crop.