National oyster shell shortage?

[U_Stormcrow]

We have lots of empty oyster shells and you don't have to buy them. They are there for the taking.

I would eagerly take some off your hands if i was close

 

[amateur_peasant]

Bought a 50 lb bag today at local TSC...had several in stock (and “in stock” isn’t exactly what TSC is known for around here).

Paid $12.49 plus tax.

Thanks. I guess you have lots of oysters in Rhode Island?

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Thanks. I guess you have lots of oysters in Rhode Island?

I have no idea if the oyster shells are produced locally or not, honestly...but there is a shellfish industry here for sure. When I was a kid, my parents driveway was shells...although here it may have been more quahog than oyster.

 

[IslandChickenWhisperer]

My feed store owner today said the problem is on the West Coast, that the East Coast is fine. The producer of oyster shell (by the bag and for inclusion in feed like layer pellets) lost some kind of permit beginning of the year, and was supposed to have it reinstated by the state of California but that didn't go through. The manufacturer started substituting limestone in the gamebird feed at least and apparently the amount was too high for roosters. So I'll be feeding an allflock type feed and figuring out a calcium supplement for the meantime until this is resolved.

 

[tigger19687]

For once it's good to be on the East Coast..... except it just started snowing

I feed all flock with shells on the side

 

[CateK2652]

Living in an area where oyster raising/harvesting is a big part of the economy I can say that several things may be effecting the availability of oyster shell. For one, the number of oysters available in the wild has been diminishing for decades due to over harvesting. There are efforts now to rebuild the oyster reefs on the East Coast but these will be decades before they are strong enough to support widespread, heavy harvesting. These reefs use old/empty oyster shells as a base on which to plant spat (baby oysters) As an alternative, commercial oyster farming under controlled circumstances uses a lot of broken shell so the spat (the baby oysters) have something to grab onto and grow. So the industry itself is recycling a lot of the shell. Years ago, the use of oyster shell in driveways and walkways was strongly discouraged (maybe even outlawed) as the need for oyster shell for the oyster industry was realized... so if you eat oysters in a restaurant, the restaurant is SUPPOSED to send those empty shells back to the oyster farmers. But, if there is seafood restaurant near you that serves oysters on the half shell, you might be able to beg them for a dozen or so shells. That said, my husband and I raise our own oysters off our dock for our own use. I normally have chucked the empty shells right back into the water under my oyster floats and dock so I'm slowly building my own oyster reef but am dependent on wild oyster spat to find them. I keep a few shells and crush them with a sledge hammer and give them to the chickens and put a bit around my tomato plants.

 

[Stephine]

Is the west coast oyster shell shortage still ongoing? I was at the feedstore a couple of months ago and still couldn’t get any.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I can get the stuff Manna Pro sells but not my preferred item.