⠀ Powdered Oyster Shell

[slayed]

I have extra agricultural pyster shell. It is in a fine powdered form. Ive never bought shell for chickens, but I assume it comes crumble-like.

Is the powdered stuff ok to feed them?
Should it be fed on the side or can I mux it in their food? Why?

Also a similiar question, what are the pro and cons of pellet vs crumble feed?

 

[MorganC]

I have the same type of oyster shell and I put it in their dust bathing holes for them to dust it. Mine is labeled safe for consumption so it should be all right to feed it to them.

Pros for pellets are: less waste, often times the only type of feed around, better weight gain ratios and conversion.
Con for pellets are: possible choking hazard for small birds, some birds are picky and won't eat pellets, can cause board-um in birds over time, requires more liquid to process.

Pros for crumbles: easier to digest, more palatable to smaller birds and chicks
Cons for crumbles: LOTS of waste

Just some things to think about, and sometimes different species prefer something different, for example, geese prefer pellets while ducks prefer crumbles.

 

[DrPatrickBiggs]

I would not recommend to use the powdered oyster shell. I think the potential problems with this outweigh the benefits. If it is too fine, the birds may not choose to eat it. The dust could get into their eyes and lungs and have detrimental impacts. If they eat a large amount of oyster shell and then take a drink, this could lead to pasting issues in the crop. I feel that you would be better served by using standard oyster shell that is a much larger particle size.

If it is not incorporated into the feed by your feed mill, then I would put oyster shell in its on feeder and let the birds eat it as needed. Adding it to your feed will most likely lead to over-consumtpion of the oyster shell.

Crumbled feed is designed for younger or smaller birds that aren't able to ingest a large pellet. As the birds increase in size, then I would switch them over to a pellet. There is going to be less feed wastage with a pelleted diet than a crumble.