laying food and oyster shells

[chickenmama109]

hi i have a flock of 12 11hens and 1 rooster three hens are laying can the others have oyster shells and laying feed and how much % of what needs to be in the laying feed and how should i feed the oyster shells


thanks to all help

 

[CABINHOLLOWNC]

Hello!

Most people recommend that Oyster Shell be offered as free choice (separate from their feed). You say you have 11 hens, so are they all laying age or close? If so, then they can all have the layer feed. There are a few threads on here that discuss roosters eating layer feed and most feed them the same feed the hens get.

 

[Circle W Farms]

It depends on the age of the hens. If they are almost POL(16 to 20wks) then the layer wont hurt them. If they are not you could feed an all flock raiser to everyone with oyster on the side. I feed oyster shell in a half gallon milk jug that I cut a hole in the side of and hang it by the handle on the side of the pen. Also only the hens that need oyster shell will eat it and the ones that don't leave it alone.

 

[SueT]

A mixed flock can be fed an all flock type feed and given oyster shell free choice on the side. The layers will regulate their own calcium intake and the rooster and non layers won't be at risk of getting too much.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Your Layer feed probably has somewhere around 3.5% to 4.5% calcium. If that is all they eat then that should be enough calcium for their egg shells. But it's not about what is in one bite, it's about how many total grams of calcium they average eating in a day. If they are eating a lot of things other than the Layer they may not be getting enough calcium for their egg shells

Chickens can get calcium from things other than Layer also, things like certain plants, certain creepy crawlies, or even certain rocks they eat as grit. Watch your egg shells. If they are thick enough they are getting enough calcium from somewhere. If they are thin they need more.

In my opinion it's not a bad idea to offer oyster shell on the side no matter what they eat. If they are getting significant calcium from other sources a bag of oyster shell can last years, it won't go bad. If they need it the oyster shell will be eaten. This takes all the concerns and guesswork out of the issue.

 

[GC-Raptor]

I feed layers pellets with oyster shell separately in a 1.3 quart pail. . I drilled a couple of oblong holes in the bottom to drain moisture with a 3/32 drill.
My last 5# bag of oyster shell lasted 11 months for 5 hens. If you use a non layer feed, it will not last as long. GC

 

[chickenmama109]

Hello!

Most people recommend that Oyster Shell be offered as free choice (separate from their feed). You say you have 11 hens, so are they all laying age or close? If so, then they can all have the layer feed. There are a few threads on here that discuss roosters eating layer feed and most feed them the same feed the hens get.

no they are not all laying 3 of them are laying my white leghorn and 2 rhode island reds I think I will give oyster shells free choice with layer feed my shells are thin so I tink I need more oyster shells I'm almost done with the bag of grower so I guess I will go to layer when I'm out of grower thanks so much love this web site