OYSTER SHELLS

[ChickNanny13]

I use the large flake type oyster shell (so actual smashed oyster shell pieces). Haven't been able to get the Scratch & Peck brand since Covid started so I currently have a bag of Small Pet Select brand that I got from Amazon, and that's a little chunkier/less dusty, so that has my approval.

Most of my layers will eat OS readily as needed, a couple won't or won't eat enough and I'll manually supplement them as needed by mixing powdered oyster shell in with a small amount of wet or fermented feed. It's a bit of micromanagement but I have the time to micromanage.

Personally I wouldn't cull for oddball eggs but we also tolerate freeloaders around here.

I need to look for that Small Pet Select brand on Amazon ... I found the Scratch & Peck on Amazon a week or so ago, that't the only one I found but today I find a bunch more offered

Yes the crushed shells do get powdery but I toss it to the ground or add to their feed. I ferment so it's no problem ... I have a backyard hobby going with 3 girls at this time, not more than 5 in the past.

Having you say "wouldn't cull for oddball eggs" is what I wanted the opinion on. I'm leaning towards letting her continue as she's giving more more good eggs than soft shelled. I was just wondering if it would lead up to becoming egg bound but I'll deal with it IF the time comes. She was my choice chick (coloring) although she'd not my favorite (personality sucks) . Thank you so very much for your opinion

 

[ChickNanny13]

Crushed limestone is sold in some places as a calcium supplement for laying hens. It does exactly what crushed oyster shells do, both being calcium carbonate.

Here's a little easy fun experiment to do if you want to see if something is actually calcium or just some kind of rock if you're not sure it's really calcium. Take some vinegar, any kind, from your kitchen and pour a drop of it on the grit or limestone or whatever the bag says is for laying hens. If it fizzes and bubbles when it makes contact with the substance, it's calcium. If it just sits there and behaves like a drop of water, it's not calcium, it's another kind of plain rock.

It's calcium

 

[MysteryChicken]

I feed Crushed Oyster Shells/Coral on the side in a separate feeder for the ladies.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Having you say "wouldn't cull for oddball eggs" is what I wanted the opinion on. I'm leaning towards letting her continue as she's giving more more good eggs than soft shelled. I was just wondering if it would lead up to becoming egg bound but I'll deal with it IF the time comes. She was my choice chick (coloring) although she'd not my favorite (personality sucks) . Thank you so very much for your opinion

As long as eggs aren't the top priority there's ways to deal with problematic layers, whether that means giving her additional supplementary calcium to help with shell issues, or just more checking of the nest boxes to clean out any messes made by soft shelled eggs.

I haven't had any birds become egg bound despite the fact that I do have a couple with shell quality issues, like I have 2 older birds that don't lay regularly anymore and don't absorb calcium so well. So when they do lay, the shells tend to be more fragile despite my supplementing them with oyster shell laced mash.

 

[SpicyDisaster]

We hadv the girls on layer feed but then had a molt marathon and a broodie hatch a chick so switched Flock Raiser with the calcium "pea rocks" as a supplement. A few of the girls didn't like the placement of the calcium bowl and started to have thinner eggs so I moved the bowl ten feet and now they eat it. Go figure We also crush egg shells back to them. 8 minutes on bake in a toaster oven and smash them up. The girls love them.

 

[kerbotx]

I buy the Manna Pro white rocks, too, but I like to supplement with the real oyster flakes:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Vibrant-Life-Poultry-Oyster-Shells-5-lbs/796742456 Does Walmart ship to Hawaii??

 

[raingarden]

I mix oyster shell in with the feed instead of using a separate bowl. That has always worked fine until flaked oyster shell became impossible to buy locally. I tried the white rocks but the birds won't eat it and pick the feed out from around it. So, now I'm buying flaked shell from Amazon where five pounds cost about as much as fifty pounds used to cost at the feed store.

When I was raising quail they were given coral sand for grit and calcium and seemed to be fine with it. I'm going to start doing that with the rest of the birds. The heavy surf beaches on the north shore have a beautiful coarse calcarious sand that you can see chunks of shell in. It is legal to take up to five gallons of sand from the beach.

 

[ChickNanny13]

As long as eggs aren't the top priority there's ways to deal with problematic layers, whether that means giving her additional supplementary calcium to help with shell issues, or just more checking of the nest boxes to clean out any messes made by soft shelled eggs.

I haven't had any birds become egg bound despite the fact that I do have a couple with shell quality issues, like I have 2 older birds that don't lay regularly anymore and don't absorb calcium so well. So when they do lay, the shells tend to be more fragile despite my supplementing them with oyster shell laced mash.

I've been really lucky so far, she lays the soft shelled eggs under the roost & not in the nest box I have noticed that with the crushed OS her good eggs are normal shaped & not odd ball. It's only been a week on the crushed, I'm thinking these are "better" for her and now that I've found them on Amazon will continue to purchase.

The bag of Manna Pro stuff (oyster shells/coral) I can give away or hang on to as it claims it's calcium carbonate and my other two don't have issues. These girls will be a year at the end of March, so young yet. I was just wondering if anyone else noticed any difference with laying between the crushed & Manna Pro stuff.

Thank you so very much ... I usually rehome & start over every year not wanting to deal with aging girls but I like the ones (3) I have now planned on keeping but adding maybe 2 - 3 more.

 

[Happy hen lover]

Thank you ever so much for your tutorial ... Very informative and helpful. My brother used to raise "fighting" chickens, they'd crush up the opihi shells for calcium but now days they're scares and not the easiest to come by.
I prefer the crushed oyster shells but it does get powdery which I just toss to the ground. The "white peas" is calcium carbonate (says on the package) just never used this type but with Covid that's all I can get so thought perhaps it was the cause of the soft shell ... Plus it was only 1 or 3 that was having the issue.
Thank you so very much for your tutorial, it's very much appreciated and will be saved.

I also have one lone hen that lays thin shelled but formed eggs with barnacle looking calcium deposits in pointy end. I tried feeding back their shells and it made deposits worse. She has laid shelless eggs once or twice in her life but she's a good layer. Just a question is she a production breed? Mine is a Red Sex Link hen. I might try to feed some cal citrate to see if it helps.

 

[ChickNanny13]

I also have one lone hen that lays thin shelled but formed eggs with barnacle looking calcium deposits in pointy end. I tried feeding back their shells and it made deposits worse. She has laid shelless eggs once or twice in her life but she's a good layer. Just a question is she a production breed? Mine is a Red Sex Link hen. I might try to feed some cal citrate to see if it helps.

It's a WTB (Whiting True Blue) from McMurray, got 2 plus a Black Start this year. Last year I had 3 WTB & 3 WTG, the WTG were better layers than the WTB. A friend of mine ended up with them, she says that the WTB egg shells weren't as "thick" as the WTG.
The white one is having the shell issue while the buff is fine as is the Black Star.