Oyster shell.. all winter to?

[GrannyCarol]

I keep oyster shell out all the time. I buy it in 50 lb bags - hey, it doesn't go bad! I have an old dog food feeder that puts it down free choice and just toss a bag in a couple of times a year. 50 lb bags run about $11, it's pretty cheap. I've never seen them go crazy over it, perhaps feeding it free choice works to keep their consumption more even?

 

[Oregon Blues]

I would say that if they are eating it, they need it. Unless they are using it as a substitute for grit? Do you have grit available full time?

I pay about $10 for a 50 pound bag and in 6 months, they've eat 1/2 a bag.

Some commercial feed has more calcium than other feeds. The use of oyster shell is going to be affected by the amount of calcium in the feed. I feed a feed that does not contain calcium, so the oyster shell is really critical for my ducks and geese.

Notice how much stronger the shells of home raised eggs are in comparison to store bought. It takes a lot of calcium to build a shell like that every day.

Also, my greedy ducks will indulge themselves with anything new that is given to them. So a fresh bowl of oyster shell gets a lot of attention. But if the shell is out all the time, they go back to just picking at it when they need it. New anything is so exciting to a duck.

 

[Going Quackers]

None of mine are greedy with it.. clearly it's eaten but it's not massively so... My duck eggs shells are like bricks lol cracking one is becoming an art

My happy layer was at it again today... Im getting some Oys tomorrow... my ducks are all fed Purina feeds and the majority free range.

 

[duckluck]

Quote:
Ditto that.