Oyster shell deal

[Debbie292d]

For those of you with laying hens, especially those on an all-flock, you go through the oyster shell.

I was always buying the 5 lb bags of it, but found Chewy has 10# buckets of it on sale $14.58 (only 6% off), but check out the cute buckets! The lids seal, but you can get them off easy, unlike those 5-gallon buckets. We bought two.

They'd make nice nipple buckets for a few chickens, or for storing whatever else.

 

[Debbie292d]

I just went to use some and it has larger chunks on top. These silkies may or may not be able to eat those, so I dug down and saw under the first inch or two, it's way nicer stuff! I'll put the larger stuff in their containers too though and see if they eat it.

If not, I suppose hubby can hammer them down a little.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

If you have the storage space, oyster shell is a good candidate to buy in bulk. You can probably find 30, 40, and maybe even 50 lb bags. It doesn't go bad, so can be stored for year.

 

[WingItRanch]

@Debbie292d thanks for sharing!

 

[Zenmonkey]

I just purchased 50# of crushed oyster shell at the locally owned feed store today. $16 and a little change. If you have a feed store you can drive to reasonably, they'll likely have it.

Mine says "Coastal Brand" on it, but I didn't ask. I can't imagine there's much difference one from another. As @Debbie292d says, a hammer fixes that type of problem.

A 50# sack should more or less fit in a 5 gallon bucket. Don't let it get wet. I've had an experience south wet pigeon grit where the birds wouldn't eat it. Grit for pigeons is typically both grit and calcium, with other minerals and anise oil mixed in. None of which applies here, but now I'm paranoid about grit and calcium getting wet.

 

[Debbie292d]

I just purchased 50# of crushed oyster shell at the locally owned feed store today. $16 and a little change. If you have a feed store you can drive to reasonably, they'll likely have it.

Mine says "Coastal Brand" on it, but I didn't ask. I can't imagine there's much difference one from another. As @Debbie292d says, a hammer fixes that type of problem.

A 50# sack should more or less fit in a 5 gallon bucket. Don't let it get wet. I've had an experience south wet pigeon grit where the birds wouldn't eat it. Grit for pigeons is typically both grit and calcium, with other minerals and anise oil mixed in. None of which applies here, but now I'm paranoid about grit and calcium getting wet.

We have a feed store, but I don't patronize them as they've sold a lot of sick chicks over the years. I don't want to walk in the place as I could be hauling some disease back home.

TSC only sells the 5# bags, and that's all we have around here, so thus, my hunt for a larger amount online. Maybe next time we'll go for a drive to the city, but that's 45 minutes away, so we rarely go there.

 

[Zenmonkey]

That's a rough set of decisions to make, and I don't envy you there. I have shopped a lot at TSC over the last few years, and they've got good things and bad things.

I don't know that TSC's Hoover's Hatchery chicks are much better than any other source, though I've heard this year TSC might be running its own hatchery? That seems far fetched, but maybe?

Point being that I've patronized them a fair bit. To the point where one of their clerks told me that he'd never seen anyone with nearly as many $10 TSC card credits as I had. But in my heart, I know that if they could, their corporate office would copy every last move Walmart does. And I refuse to shop at Walmart.

Anyway, my main point I wanted to get to was that driving towards a city is maybe the wrong direction to look for a new feed mill.

 

[StacyT]

I order the 50# bags from TSC online and have them delivered. I can get the bag for $18.99 and I get free shipping. I usually order 2 bags at a time, I go through a lot.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Be careful with the 50lb bags of oyster shell from tractor supply. On multiple occasions I have found metal shards throughout the bag. They look almost like little pieces of steel wool. I switched to small pet selects which albeit is more expensive, but I don’t have to worry about impacting or shredded intestines from metal being ingested.

 

[StacyT]

Be careful with the 50lb bags of oyster shell from tractor supply. On multiple occasions I have found metal shards throughout the bag. They look almost like little pieces of steel wool. I switched to small pet selects which albeit is more expensive, but I don’t have to worry about impacting or shredded intestines from metal being ingested.

I’ve never seen any foreign objects in the bags and I’ve gone through a lot.