Oyster Shell Equivalent?

[kari_dawn]

I provide mine with calcium rich suplements simply because my free range area consists of grasses, bugs, and little else. My soil is rich and dark, and has little to no stones so I also provide grit. The area my girls generally stay in is pretty barren in nutritional diversity of diet. Just because they get out of the coop does not necissarily mean they are getting everything they need.

They DO get things like kale, yogurt, fruit, and veggies on a regular basis. I do provide oyster shell but have found they really don't care for it. They LOVE their own egg shells though. I have never had an issue with egg eatting save for one rescue chicken that NOTHING worked for. She was rehomed.

 

[Juise]

Feeding back the egg shells is NOT adding any calcium to their diets, since that calcium came from the birds to begin with,
It helps, but it's still not enough to replace what they are losing

Oyster shell is cheap and easy to find at most feed stores

Why make things harder than they need to be?

I realize that the calcium in their shells comes from them in the first place, but they are still a good source of calcium, and won't actually be the only calcium they are getting in their diets. They will still be getting calcium in their food, although less than they've been getting, and they also get lots of calcium rich scraps from us, as well as having quite a lot to forage around here.

Now, for the sake of argument, I do still consider it adding calcium to their diets, or at least just as much as feeding them oyster shell and not their own egg shells would be.

It is still adding back calcium that is not currently in their bodies, irregardless of the origin.

As I stated before, the additional cost of oyster shells is not the reason I do not want to purchase it, and I would happily buy something else even if it cost a bit more, which is why I started off asking for an oyster shell equivalent.
I realize I am not going to get a whole lot of sympathy on a chicken forum for this,

but I have been vegan for almost 10 years. I am still vegan with the exception of eggs solely from our own chickens, which means that I do not buy or use animal products.

After nearly 10 years of veganism, I am very used to making things harder than they need to be for myself.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I realize I am not going to get a whole lot of sympathy on a chicken forum for this, but I have been vegan for almost 10 years. I am still vegan with the exception of eggs solely from our own chickens, which means that I do not buy or use animal products.

After nearly 10 years of veganism, I am very used to making things harder than they need to be for myself.

Don'ty get to feeling too special or put upon. According to a poll on here where we could check off multiple reasons for having chickens, less than 10% of the forum members raise chickens for meat. Eggs and pets were the two most popular categories. Of course you run into individuals, but overall this is a pretty accepting group of people. The few of us that eat our chickens don't get picked on that much.

 

[Juise]

Oh, I have had a wonderful experience here, I didn't mean that at all. I just meant there probably weren't many people on a chicken-raising board that sympathized entirely with a vegan lifestyle, being that raising chickens, even just for their eggs, is not vegan.

Mostly I was trying to say that I understand if many people don't understand why I wouldn't want to buy oyster shells.

After a year of having chickens I am still feeling confused and lost as to what I am now.

I know that many people here do not eat their birds, and I have even found some others who are / are planning to keep their chickens for the entirely of their lives, even if the chickens aren't laying anymore and the owners don't have a lot of space. I know also that there are plenty of vegetarians here, too, which is great.

Vegans differ from vegetarians, though, in that they do not consume, buy, or use any animal products at all, including things like wool or silk clothing, anything containing honey, shells, or feathers, and obviously not milk... or eggs.

 

[cmom]

We eat oysters here in Maryland and I am wondering if putting out the real oyster shells for them to peck would do any harm?

I have just crush them up. It isn't easy to crush oyster shells. You have to put the shells in something before you start smashing them like an old pillow case, otherwise the shells will go everywhere. I have used a sledgehammer. to smash them. Some pieces will be finer than others. I don't bother anymore to smash my own shells. I buy a 50# bag of already crushed shells. A 50# bag last a long time. The birds only need oyster shells when they lay. The shells provide extra calcium for stronger shells.