Oyster shell...vegetarian?

[Ridgerunner]

Check into how oyster shells are mined, or actually dredged. Your worries may go away.

Live oyster beds are valuable for the oysters they produce. The seas are full of old dead oyster beds. But please do your own research. Don't take my word for it.

 

[Chris09]

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).

Here is the OP's post that stats that makes me think that they are wanting a vegetarian chicken.
Quote:
I'm sorry if the OP wants to be a vegetarian that fine, I have no problem with that but don't try to make a animal that naturally eats other animals a vegetarian.


Chris

 

[dretd]

Angel8035, my 11 year old daughter is a vegetarian, too. Poor dear is always getting questions from her peer group about why she doesn't eat meat. Hard to explain philosophy to 6th graders so I have advised her to explain that she doesn't feel well when she eats meat (which is true, just not the whole story). I have a friend that worked in an office with vegetarians and meat eaters that looked over a field. One day the mobile butcher came and one of the meat eaters felt it necessary to give them a running dialogue of the whole dispatch/slaughter routine. Jerk. Being a polite girl, my daughter would never comment on another's food choices, why do meat eaters get so offended if you choose no to eat meat? I try to explain to folks questioning my daughter that being a vegetarian is like being a Hindu and not eating beef or Jewish and not eating pork or shellfish. Think of it as a religious choice and don't try to sneak chicken broth in the soup--would you mince up bacon and feed it to your Jewish friend and not tell them? Sorry for the rant. I feel better.

Anyway, you could look in to getting aquarium substrate designed for salt water tanks. They vary from sand to crushed coral to crushed shells. Many advertise that they do not harm coral reefs and mine the substrate from ancient coral beds: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753225 This is just one of many examples that you can get from your local pet store if they carry salt water fish. Prepackaged in small amounts and sometimes you can even buy it in bulk from a bin if the store is big enough so you can get just as much as you like. I hope this helps and I get your point of view even though I eat meat.

 

[Chris09]

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.

Not natural for chicken eat left over remains from animal processing, I would guess that you haven't had chicken very long.
I well let you know that chicken are one step away from being a carnivore when it comes to any kind of meat.
If a chicken is bleeding in the pen every chicken in that pen is picking on it they will kill it. I have to put my bird in there pen when I butcher because there under feet trying to get anything that drops. Chickens will eat anything that don't eat them first. Now before someone says I need to feed more I will let you know that they are on full feed all the time.. Chickens are just naturally that way.

Chris

 

[angel8035]

Here is the OP's post that stats that makes me think that they are wanting a vegetarian chicken.
I'm sorry if the OP wants to be a vegetarian that fine, I have no problem with that but don't try to make a animal that naturally eats other animals a vegetarian.


Chris

You cannot possibly argue that chickens would naturally eat oyster shells? My chickens eat what chickens naturally eat - grass, veggies, bugs, whatever else they find in the yard. Chickens would not naturally eat chicken feed but we give that to them to fill in any holes in their diets. Chickens would not naturally eat cows, would they? Can you argue that? Chickens are opportunity carnivores - they do not hunt (at least not gracefully) but if something wanders in their path they will eat it. I have no problem with that. I feed them meal worms for protein (another natural source). I do not want to feed them byproducts of animal slaughter for human consumption but I will give them what they need to survive. Please explain to me how THAT is unnatural? You are missing my point. Luckily others here have answered my questions and offered me suggestions for making sure my chickens are healthy and I do not have to compromise my convictions.

 

[angel8035]

Angel8035, my 11 year old daughter is a vegetarian, too. Poor dear is always getting questions from her peer group about why she doesn't eat meat. Hard to explain philosophy to 6th graders so I have advised her to explain that she doesn't feel well when she eats meat (which is true, just not the whole story). I have a friend that worked in an office with vegetarians and meat eaters that looked over a field. One day the mobile butcher came and one of the meat eaters felt it necessary to give them a running dialogue of the whole dispatch/slaughter routine. Jerk. Being a polite girl, my daughter would never comment on another's food choices, why do meat eaters get so offended if you choose no to eat meat? I try to explain to folks questioning my daughter that being a vegetarian is like being a Hindu and not eating beef or Jewish and not eating pork or shellfish. Think of it as a religious choice and don't try to sneak chicken broth in the soup--would you mince up bacon and feed it to your Jewish friend and not tell them? Sorry for the rant. I feel better.

Anyway, you could look in to getting aquarium substrate designed for salt water tanks. They vary from sand to crushed coral to crushed shells. Many advertise that they do not harm coral reefs and mine the substrate from ancient coral beds: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753225 This is just one of many examples that you can get from your local pet store if they carry salt water fish. Prepackaged in small amounts and sometimes you can even buy it in bulk from a bin if the store is big enough so you can get just as much as you like. I hope this helps and I get your point of view even though I eat meat.

Thank you. It never fails to amaze me how often I get attacked for being a vegetarian. I make it a priority to never judge or preach to others but you're right, people feel the need for some reason to try to make me feel bad about my choices. For example, after explaining to everyone why I want to raise my own chickens - pretty much everyone I know thinks its funny to joke about killing my pet chickens and eating them. I find it in bad taste considering they know why I don't eat meat.

Any way, thank you for the recommendations. I will look in to that as well.

 

[Chris09]

You cannot possibly argue that chickens would naturally eat oyster shells? My chickens eat what chickens naturally eat - grass, veggies, bugs, whatever else they find in the yard. Chickens would not naturally eat chicken feed but we give that to them to fill in any holes in their diets. Chickens would not naturally eat cows, would they? Can you argue that? Chickens are opportunity carnivores - they do not hunt (at least not gracefully) but if something wanders in their path they will eat it. I have no problem with that. I feed them meal worms for protein (another natural source). I do not want to feed them byproducts of animal slaughter for human consumption but I will give them what they need to survive. Please explain to me how THAT is unnatural? You are missing my point. Luckily others here have answered my questions and offered me suggestions for making sure my chickens are healthy and I do not have to compromise my convictions.

I think you may need to describe you definition of naturally. (as in chickens)
Now keep in mind there were no chickens in the wild until we (man) bred them.

A chicken will eat anything that don't eat them first. (if it is dead it is fare game for a chicken) trust me.
Look through the post and see how many people post about there chicken KILLING rats, mice, snakes, other chickens etc.


Chris

 

[jamesbwood]

Chicken eggs, bugs, shells from eggs and even dredged shells from oysters are animal or animal byproducts.

I think you mean you want to avoid feeding processed meat foods; that you believe that what goes into your chickens has an effect on what comes out of them. That makes sense. While I do use standard chicken food as an affordable base, I try to get as much bugs, weed seeds, fruit, etc into my birds as I can.

I don't know much about the processing of oyster shells but I imagine it is limited to dredging them up, crushing them, cleaning the dust off and size sorting the results. Only you can decide if that level of processing is OK. Same for crushing up dried out egg shells, For me, both are fine.

As for vegetarians, my experience is that they are just like everyone else. Most are nice but some get in your face and preach about your choices. Live and let live.

James
Biologist

 

[duckinnut]

Thank you. It never fails to amaze me how often I get attacked for being a vegetarian. I make it a priority to never judge or preach to others but you're right, people feel the need for some reason to try to make me feel bad about my choices. For example, after explaining to everyone why I want to raise my own chickens - pretty much everyone I know thinks its funny to joke about killing my pet chickens and eating them. I find it in bad taste considering they know why I don't eat meat.

Any way, thank you for the recommendations. I will look in to that as well.

I really don't think anyone is attacking your choice of being a vegetarian. I think what Chris09 is saying that you are trying to make a chicken something it isn't. There are other forms of calcium besides oyster shell. I can assure you that fishermen don't go out on the ocean just to harvest shells. The oyster shell we commonly buy had oysters in the at one time. whether they were consumed by humans or whatever. So given that,shells are a by-product of consumption.The shells just don't wash up on shore.

 

[Chris09]

Chicken eggs, bugs, shells from eggs and even dredged shells from oysters are animal or animal byproducts.

I think you mean you want to avoid feeding processed meat foods; that you believe that what goes into your chickens has an effect on what comes out of them. That makes sense.

This makes sense to me also, It may be the incorrect wording that mad me thing that the OP wanted a vegetarian chicken.


Chris