Poultry Grit and Oyster Shells??

[Harleena]

Thanks for this thread. We've never offered our hens grit or oyster shell. They free range on dirt all day and eat lay pellets. But we plan to fence them in, so we'll look into getting some of both.

 

[BlondChicken]

I have ALOT of oyster shells from a

resturant and would like to know how to prepare them for my chickens.
There is still some meat inside the shells ,, do I burn the meat off on the BBQ ??

 

[Santa Walt]

Dale, in a very early post in this thread, said not to give eggs shells to the chickens. My grandmother always gave her chickens egg shells, but never as egg shells. She would cook them a while in the oven and then crush them until they were very small pieces. I guess it worked since she never had a problem with her chickens harming their eggs in any way. On the other hand, it seems a bit easier to just get some oyster shell and not have to fool with processing eggs shells. Your call.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:
I was doing this egg shell processing for a long time, until i finally figured out that i can just throw the eggs shells in the compost, and they get eaten. Also, i don't have any egg eaters. If i were going to keep the egg shells in my house for any length of time, i would definitely boil, bake, and crush. But since i just throw them out for the chickens, i don't worry about it. I also have never purchased oyster shell. My chickens free range and eat scraps and flock raiser, and they do great!

 

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:
I have no experience with oyster shells in their original form or otherwise, so i'm just offering up thoughts. Could you boil the meat off of them and then bake them to dry - then crush? That's what i used to do with egg shells, but i'm not familiar with the consistency of an oyster shell.

 

[logan]

yes you need to feed them grits but if the need protien not to much

 

[chewybecca]

Thanks Steve - you answered the question completely, I have read loads of different forums looking for the answer about grit and oyster shells and finally I am clear about the answer

 

[jotebo]

I'm a newbie to keeping chickens. Two pullets for laying are arriving Wednesday. They will not be free range as we have no soil in the FL Keys. Do I need to give them grit? I will be feeding them commercial laying feed and some kitchen scraps. I have Oyster Shells to offer them. Do you just add it to their feed or put it in a pan by itself? Thanks for any help.

 

[jlbb5]

That is awesome information! Thank you!
I am just starting out with chickens, and I recently acquired 4 layer hens - all different breeds. Their eggs are all different. The Buff Orpington's brown pink/eggs are so thin that they break somtimes when we wash them off. The Australorp's green eggs have the little bumps, and the Polish hen's little white eggs have the areas of the shell that look thinner. I will be going to Tractor Supply for oyster shells or grit today!
Three days after I got these hens the Calico Cochin died. She never laid an egg. We had a necrospy done. Her bones were bendy, and her liver was black around the edges. She was not egg bound, and she did have some food in her crop and intestines. Could she have died from a calcium deficiency?

 

[Pabomaja1940]

Well, mine does not eat them but one hen the eggs are very thin and breaking with a little pressure