Oyster shell...vegetarian?

[akovia]

But, egg shells are an animal product! Oh, I am so confused

 

[7L Farm]

<~~ Amused by the irony that the next thread is "Chickens won't eat produce or scratch"

Sorry - can't offer an opinion for the OP. I feed my horses horsefood, my dogs dogfood, my cats catfood and my chickens chickenfood.

Yup !!

 

[7L Farm]

My intent is to keep my hens from eating byproducts from the slaughter of beef/poultry/pork etc.

I am not sure if hens raised on a "vegetarian diet" (meaning that it excludes meat byproducts, not bugs and natural forage), are still fed oyster shell? I can't find much info on it.

Feed them venison, fish & wild hog meat. That's what I mainly eat besides my veggies I grow & my yard eggs & quail eggs. Chickens aren't vegetarians it takes alot of protein for them to live & do what they do & that's laying eggs. I'm confused too on what your trying to accomplish but their your chickens. Maybe you should raise them on organic feed. Sounds like your trying not to feed them any chemicals. Here at 7L I use no chemicals on my veggie gardens but to be certified organic farmer is way to much trouble. I call all my food that I sell by the term Farm Fresh. I'm editing this because I now see your wondering about feeding them oyster shell. You don't have to feed them oyster shells if thats what your worried about.

 

[dr0b3rts]

If you look at it another way, what would a vegetarian, whom also eats milk and eggs, want from the producer of these products?

If you don't cause harm (directly or indirectly) to an animal in the process of raising your chickens, then I would say it would be "Vegetarian Approved." Therefore, you could feed your chickens eggs, milk, vegetables, and anything that didn't require the death of something living.

Oysters are living animals and the shells might be a product of harvesting live oysters. You could, instead, give them crushed sea shells from the beach, assuming that there's nothing living in there.

 

[ChickenJerk]

Many years ago in one of the commercial poultry trade magazines there was a story about Pilot Brand Oyster Shell products. At that time they were the biggest supplier to that market.

What they sold was mad from "ancient beds of fossilized (?) shells" dredged from beds well offshore. Reason being that to clean the animal remains from the shells from the oyster processing industry was cost prohibitive. They needed to be cleaned because the residual soft tissue could become a health hazard to the birds. And besides - to get the quantities they needed from oyster processors they would have had to drive all around the Chesapeake Bay every day and gather up pick-up truck loads to fill a semi truck with finished product.

Are you concerned with the possibility that your chickens might pick up a stones, for grit, while ranging? Those stones may contain a fossil and condemn your chickens to the fate of being labeled "fed an inappropriate" food source. After all it could have be an animal or fish or, heaven forbid, a dinosaur fossil. The dinosaur, being related to birds, could transmit "mad dino disease" to chickens! Think about it!

Another thing to think about- as a mammal if you were to fart in the chicken house and the birds breathed in some of that air will that disqualify them as vegetarian as contaminated with an animal by product?????

Like I said - think.

 

[linkedsilas]

to meet your unnatural want -----I dont think you can say its unnatural for somebody. You have no idea how someone was raised. I myself am vegetarian and feed my animals meat products even though the idea doesnt thrill me I know its what my animals need.
No idea why you are being harsh on this guy when he is just trying to be empathetic

 

[HEChicken]

Chris, I think you are missing the OP's point, a little. She doesn't necessarily want to restrict her birds to a vegetarian diet as much as she doesn't want to contribute to maltreatment of animals in the food industry. I get that. Its the same reason I became a vegetarian, even though I eat my own birds (excess roosters). Its not that I'm opposed to eating meat - I just don't want to exacerbate the poor treatment that animals in the food industry are subjected to. So, when I know my own birds have been both kept and processed humanely, I have no issue with eating them.

What I am getting from the OP's question is that she doesn't want to contribute, even in the smallest way, to animals being mistreated. Therefore, she is feeding her birds a vegetarian diet, but isn't opposed to them eating whatever protein they find in their natural environment (bugs etc).

 

[angel8035]

Chris, I think you are missing the OP's point, a little. She doesn't necessarily want to restrict her birds to a vegetarian diet as much as she doesn't want to contribute to maltreatment of animals in the food industry. I get that. Its the same reason I became a vegetarian, even though I eat my own birds (excess roosters). Its not that I'm opposed to eating meat - I just don't want to exacerbate the poor treatment that animals in the food industry are subjected to. So, when I know my own birds have been both kept and processed humanely, I have no issue with eating them.

What I am getting from the OP's question is that she doesn't want to contribute, even in the smallest way, to animals being mistreated. Therefore, she is feeding her birds a vegetarian diet, but isn't opposed to them eating whatever protein they find in their natural environment (bugs etc).

Exactly. I am a little confused by the harsh responses I have received. As I repeated TWICE, my chickens spend much of their time ranging and can eat whatever they want (as a chicken NATURALLY would). It is NOT NATURAL for a chicken to eat left over remains from animal processing - those are fillers that are put in to some commercial chicken feeds. I also do not eat sea food, though some people (pescetarians) feel that fish and sea food do not have the mental capacity to experience pain/fear and that they are therefore ethically okay to eat. I do not feel that way and am wondering 1. do chickens need oyster shell, 2. is oyster shell a product of oyster farming 3. would a chicken that eats oyster shell be considered to have a diet free of animal byproducts?

I thank you all for your helpful responses - I believe the general consensus is that I should avoid oyster shell (though one poster pointed out that they may actually be harvested from sea beds of already dead animals - I will look in to that).

Also thank you to those who have suggested alternative forms of calcium.

I appreciate the help!

 

[angel8035]

Actually, as I posted, I am a vegetarian which means I do not eat MEAT. I do not contribute to the factory farming of livestock. This is why I have my own chickens, so that I will not be buying eggs from battery cage hens. If you want to THINK, how do any of your points have anything to do with what I asked? Was an animal killed by me farting? No. Irrelevant. Was an animal killed to make fossils? No. Animal byproducts are dead animal remains that are left over from the slaughter of cows, pigs, chickens (and apparently oysters, which I wasn't sure of and was the reason I started this thread). This is what I will not feed my chickens. I do not eat slaughtered animals - neither will my chickens. Now my cats eat meat because they need it to survive. My chickens don't - I don't. I wish cats didn't and I could remove myself from the meat chain all together but I can't.

I am a logical person who, believe it or not, THINKS about the things I eat and what my animals eat. I didn't realize that was so offensive!

 

[angel8035]

But, egg shells are an animal product! Oh, I am so confused

No animals die in the production of egg shells. No need to be confused