Offering Oyster Shell and Grit

[weezyfno]

What type of container do you guys use to give oyster shells/grit to your flock?

I need some ideas to offer these without the chickens scratching and spreading all over the coop.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

This is what I use - it's marketed as a goat mineral holder (so you know where to look at TSC, etc) -- I have it mounted at chest height in the coop which keeps them from kicking bedding into the container and from scratching/billing stuff out.

 

[Caleb999]

I use a dog bowl. Really cheap and easy to find, and it's hard to tip over.

 

[weezyfno]

This is what I use - it's marketed as a goat mineral holder (so you know where to look at TSC, etc) -- I have it mounted at chest height in the coop which keeps them from kicking bedding into the container and from scratching/billing stuff out.

Another question - lol. How do they know to eat it?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Another question - lol. How do they know to eat it?

They just do -on both counts - it's instinctual for them. This is why it is possible to have oyster shell out at all times and not have to worry about birds who are not currently laying consuming damaging amounts of calcium (as opposed to "force feeding" the calcium via layer ration where if they take in feed they take in the calcium), a bird who is not currently laying eggs will not feel the "drive" to consume the calcium source as their body will not be telling them they need it.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

It's probably the same as me craving an orange or something like peanut butter, I'm smart enough to know why, a chicken will crave calcium, and she probably has seen that white stuff in a dish and has tried it, after that her body will crave it like I will eat an orange when I need vitamin c, I think I only want the orange, but it's the vitamins I'm after. That's my story.

 

[WYNot]

I've got two of these in the run, Little Giant 5" Feed with Metal Bottom. One for grit and one for oyster shell. They do free range most days and are fed layer pellets, so is probably not needed but it is there just in case one of them gets a hankering for grit or calcium.

 

[donrae]

What's wrong with feeding them on the ground? Scratching is natural and they need to do it, might as well give them something to scratch and look for. I just toss mine on the ground in the run.

 

[junebuggena]

I just toss it in the run, too.

 

[RonP]

Granite, layer, oystershell...