A couple of my chickens just started laying within the last week. The shells on the eggs are fine. Do I need to start giving them oyster shells? Thanks.
Chickens need large amounts of calcium to produce appropriate shells on their eggs. If you do not provide calcium in the form of oyster shells or such they will deplete their own bodies, resulting in poor bone health and skeletal structure. A that point I'm guessing that the hens would stop laying and eventually die. Lack of calcium can also result in egg binding, which can also be fatal. Layer pellets usually contain calcium. But I'd rather err on the side of caution and offer them free choice oyster shell in addition to layer pellets. My 6 hens seem to go through about a 1/2 cup of shell per week. And from the bulk bin it only costs me 20 cents per pound. That lasts me a long time.
If you are feeding layer feed, they will probably be OK, but putting some out free choice will not hurt them. If you are not feeding layer feed, they absolutely need oyster shell or some other source of calcium.
I always offer my birds oyster shell free choice but I have noticed when they get to range more they will hardly touch it so I assume they find what they need elsewhere (in bugs or whatever) So if your birds are free range chickens and they don't seem to be eating the oyster shell I wouldn't get overly concerned unless you start getting half formed or "soft" eggs. But even when my birds are ranging a lot I still leave it out and I even change it every couple of weeks just to be on the safe side. JM
When in doubt, mix the oyster shell into the layer pellets. I use about a 20 to 1 ratio, but its a guestimate. They eat everything, and Iʻve never had a problem.
