Is there such a thing as too much oyster shells?

[wings]

I'll just get a tiny thing for oyster shells, because it seems like they don't eat them much anyway.

 

[beerguzzler]

millebantam, LOVE your coop setup. The tree branch in the ground for roosting and the entire coop/run covered in netting is REALLY nice. I am jealous.

Also, I don't know if using shell (real oyster shell) is ok for the ground cover but I really like the idea. I can get loads of it cheap. I hope folks chime in because I may do this if it is ok.

 

[wings]

I would think that the peeps would cut their feet on it. What about that?

 

[thecochincoop]

I am not sure , but when I was feeding my chickens crushed eggs shells and oyster shells the eggs got such a hard shell that I lost a lot of chicks that weren't able to break out. When I stopped giving the extras the eggs were fine and the chicks broke out just fine so I don't give any extra calcium anymore. I feed them either laying mash or unmedicated chick starter and they do just fine (extra protein since they are show birds).

 

[millebantam]

Well, I can only speak from my personal experience on it as a ground cover. I've had chickens, red golden pheasants, and chukars running around on it for over 2 years. I have had no foot injury or tenderness, They even dig out big craters and dust bathe in it. As far as shell thickness and hatching, the shells are noticably thicker, but my hatch rates are in the 90's. I should also note that these are ocean clam shells, and are pretty soft and crumble easily. To me, the real bonus is NO mud at all, even during the nastiest of conditions.
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