Oyster shell versus Limestone grit

[Demosthine]

Although I'm quite the newbie, only having chickens for about six months, I find it disturbing that your girls' eggs would change their shell thickness in a matter of days like that. To me, that is a sign that there is something seriously wrong with their nutritional intake. Calcium does require other nutrients in order to be properly absorbed, so perhaps it isn't only their calcium that is off. I would say they are eating the oyster shell way too quickly.

My girls have been laying for about six weeks or so by now. They are still eating the Start & Grow, since I have younger girls that are as few as six weeks old. I provide crushed egg shell on the side and it's always available during the day. It has been probably a month since I filled the pot with approximately four cups of egg shell. Currently, it still has roughly half of that and my girls' eggs are very nicely shelled, so their supplemental calcium requirements are not high at all. My girls are given a large amount of Start & Grow every morning and then allowed to free-range for approximately 16 hours a day.

One other thing to remember is that there are different types of limestone. Theoretically, you feed store should carry the correct one, but if they are telling you that limestone will substitute grit, perhaps they don't know either. There is a dolomitic limestone that is not suitable for chickens. It is said to have too much of other minerals and may cause problems. It is used mostly as a fertilizer.

Otherwise, I think the others have given a pretty good response. Keep us updated.

 

[ShereeDupuis]

Grit does not take the place of oyster shell and I really wish ignorant store clerks would stop telling people that it does.

If they consumed the OS like it was going out of style I can only suppose that they were deficient in calcium stores in their bodies and were making up for lost time.

Grit is for grinding up food. Not necessary if the chickens have access to small stones and pebbles in their enviroment.

Oyster shell serves one purpose - as a calcium supplement.

Limestone grit is calcium the store clerk is not wrong at all.
These birds are just not used to it.

 

[RcoM]

I give my hens lots of Oyster shell in small separate feeders.
I also give them Limestone Grit, a hard rock that some find to large to use as grit. But those who use it may get some extra calcium. So it is a good thing to use as it does benefit both uses. But I would not skip the Oyster Shells which are softer.

In fact I also add extra Crab or Crustacean meal into their food and into the oyster shell feeders. This is an excellent source of calcium and minerals but costs more.

I also give them granite grit which is smaller size and they also free range so they can get their own grit. And I put Calcium carbonate on the pasture grass they feed on to raise calcium levels in the ground and grass they eat.

I also add Flax seeds, Chia Seeds, Black oil sunflower Seeds, Camelina Seeds, Kelp Powder and Millet as boosters in their feed.

I also add extra Probiotics to the feed from time to time. And Ginger Cayenne and Garlic to keep rodents out of the feed and keep the parasites out of the hens.
And ACV in the water with Trace minerals too.

And they get 100% Organic grains for feed, like Scratch and Peck or occasionally organic Pellets from Buxton.

Super lucky hens!

 

[RcoM]

Just adding my thoughts here. When I bought limestone grit, formulated for hens- with good chunks for overnight digestion, my girls ate it voraciously! They definitely had better shells although they were pretty good to start with. They choose it over egg shells every time. Haven't found oyster shells yet to compare. They won't touch sea shells and they don't seem to help. My daughter's chickens laid soft shells when given only sea shells as a supplement.