Oyster shell- anything to know?

[SourRoses]

If you want actual flaked shells, Scratch & Peck and Small Pet Select both offer those.

Scratch and Peck, on Amazon at least, has no availability of the Oyster Shell product, and this has been going on so long that it auto-redirects my browser to their Crushed Limestone product which has strangely stolen all of the reviews and Q&A from their Oyster shell listing.

Small Pet Select is the brand that switched to Seashells. Here, I snatched a pic from the top review...

The label says "Flaked oyster and sea shell" , but there is much more sea shell.

I'm guessing because this is considered a "supplement" they legally don't have to follow labeling rules and those are not listed in quantity order.

 

[SourRoses]

This one is real flaked oyster shell instead of white rocks. I don't know if it makes any difference. It's a nostalgia thing, but look at the price difference.

I wish it was only nostalgia.
According to the many threads here on the topic, Oyster Shell is superior and has been the mainstay for so long because of the length of time it stays intact in the bird, making for a slow-release calcium carbonate. Other sources of calcium carbonate release much faster.
You never know what hour each hen is working on her eggshells and if it's happening in the early morning when she's been off feed for 8+ hours then a fast-release calcium product is not going to be available to her.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Scratch and Peck, on Amazon at least, has no availability of the Oyster Shell product, and this has been going on so long that it auto-redirects my browser to their Crushed Limestone product which has strangely stolen all of the reviews and Q&A from their Oyster shell listing.

Small Pet Select is the brand that switched to Seashells. Here, I snatched a pic from the top review...

The label says "Flaked oyster and sea shell" , but there is much more sea shell.

I'm guessing because this is considered a "supplement" they legally don't have to follow labeling rules and those are not listed in quantity order.

Yeah I haven't been able to get S&P oyster shell since after the pandemic started, so not sure if they'll ever restock, but that one was easy to ID as actual oyster shell. It made for great oyster shell powder to mix into mash for birds that didn't want to eat it as well.

Small Pet is probably mostly clam shell (much thicker shell and doesn't shatter into horizontal striations) and yes I noticed that at the first bag I bought. But it's still actual shell and I haven't seen anything that says other mollusk shells aren't suitable as oyster shell substitutes. My birds have not turned up their beaks at it.

I've also been stretching out the shells by baking and crushing good quality egg shells from time to time but I know that's not a suitable sole source of calcium especially since I don't exclusively feed layer.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Small Pet is probably mostly clam shell (much thicker shell and doesn't shatter into horizontal striations) and yes I noticed that at the first bag I bought. But it's still actual shell and I haven't seen anything that says other mollusk shells aren't suitable as oyster shell substitutes. My birds have not turned up their beaks at it.

Yeah, even the best, most pure oyster shell is worthless if your chickens won't eat it. It's frustrating.

 

[Happy Novogens]

Just to add another question to this thread....

I was checking our local TCS and the gal helping me said they do not feed their hens any added calcium/oyster shell. She says they feed them layer feed and corn scratch. They get 10-15 eggs per day from 8 hens. The only shell issues they've had is on the occasional hen's first eggs-- just slightly malformed. I realize this is anecdotal, but what say all of you?

My understanding was that the way to feed would be to use an all-flock and separately provide the oyster shell once they start laying. She seemed unfamiliar with all-flock.

(And, yeah, the 50 lb bag of oyster shell at TCS said "oyster shell & coral calcium.")

 

[raingarden]

The fact she says she's getting 10-15 eggs per day from eight hens should make you suspicious of everything she says.

 

[Aunt Angus]

The fact she says she's getting 10-15 eggs per day from eight hens should make you suspicious of everything she says.

Exactly.

 

[Happy Novogens]

The fact she says she's getting 10-15 eggs per day from eight hens should make you suspicious of everything she says.

Exactly.

I don't know what that means since I've never had chickens. Could you explain what is suspicious of her statement? I don't know what the standard should be.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I don't know what that means since I've never had chickens. Could you explain what is suspicious of her statement? I don't know what the standard should be.

Oh! Of course!

Chickens lay 1 egg a day in a perfect world. Every 25 hours, I think, if we want to get technical. They don't usually lay every day, though. If my girls were laying 2x a day, it would be more realistic to assume I had extra chickens I didn't realize I had. Secret chickens. Maybe ninja chickens.

My guess is she is either exaggerating to impress you or she isn't collecting eggs every day, so that when she does, she's finding more eggs than hens.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I was checking our local TCS and the gal helping me said they do not feed their hens any added calcium/oyster shell. She says they feed them layer feed and corn scratch.

So if you have a flock of laying hens only (no roosters, no chicks), layer feed is an acceptable option as it's formulated to provide the average amount of calcium a layer should need (so you are less likely to need to supplement calcium). A lot of folks on here go that route as it simplifies feeding.

You may occasionally have a bird that needs more calcium than average, but in this case this is where offering crushed eggshells may be enough to satisfy that need, as extra calcium is coming from the feed itself.