Oyster Shell for Buttons

[TeresaW]

I bought this. First off, even though it says it's pullet-sized, the pieces are pretty big, and I had to use my mortar and pestle to grind it up. It wasn't easy.

Second, I read that at least for chickens, it's bad for the roosters, and to put it in a separate container so the ladies could eat it as needed.

As soon as I put a small bowl into the cage, a male button began to eat it. I know he's a male; I've seen him try to mate, and I've seen him make his male call with that eerie sounding cooing they do.

Is it okay that he's eating it?

 

[Nabiki]

If you feed it on the side, your boy isn't likely to eat too much of it. He was probably curious about the new "food" you put in.

I have a small steel mortar and pestle that I use for calcium. Oyster shell is a lot softer than the stuff you got.

 

[TeresaW]

But Oyster Shell is what I got.

 

[Nabiki]

That is what it's labeled as. It looks more like mineral rock calcium than oyster shell, though. I have used that, but I prefer the oyster shell I get from the feed store. It's a lot thinner and softer.

 

[TeresaW]

Oh, do you know what brand it is?

 

[Nabiki]

Oh, do you know what brand it is?

It comes in a 50 lb brown bag with no label. I used to get the same stuff at my old home town and they sell the same stuff at the feed stores I've been to in my new town.

 

[TeresaW]

50 lbs !?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

It's not that big a bag and it lasts forever.

 

[Nabiki]

50 lbs !?

It doesn't go bad and I have the space in my garage to keep it. I also have a lot of quail.

 

[TeresaW]

I don't have a garage unfortunately, and I've been working hard to get stuff out of the house so I have room for quail cages.