Question about oyster shells.

[boysmom2]

Hello all. I have 18 week old pullets. They are my first and doing well. I know I am supposed to start giving them oyster shells and have purchased some. The problem is I am hesitating because the pieces seem so sharp. Even if I was to make them smaller I feel like I will be feeding them shards of glass! I know I fuss too much but I need to know if anyone has had a problem with oyster shells. I lost one of my girls earlier to a crop problem and now am a little nervous. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[mumofsix]

I started Mine on Oyster Shell this past week ,They will be 5 months old 8/14/14 I recall when I was Younger My Granny killing Chickens and find glass and rocks in Their craw.She said it helps with Their food. Good Luck

 

[dheltzel]

You could start them on some of the smaller pieces if that makes you feel better, but they will be able to handle it ok. If you switch them to layer feed, that has all the calcium they need, though they still seem to like and eat oyster shell. Maybe it keeps them healthier for the long term, layer feed is usually formulated with the minimum needed for good egg production, nothing more.

I don't start OS until at least some of the pullets in the pen are laying.

 

[cafarmgirl]

The oyster shell is actually fairly soft and will get ground down in the gizzard pretty quickly, that's how they are able to absorb the calcium it supplies. It does not act as grit. I start putting it out when the hens start laying, they will take what they need when they need it, sometimes more, sometimes less.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

The oyster shell is actually fairly soft and will get ground down in the gizzard pretty quickly, that's how they are able to absorb the calcium it supplies. It does not act as grit. I start putting it out when the hens start laying, they will take what they need when they need it, sometimes more, sometimes less.

X 2

 

[Chris09]

The oyster shell is actually fairly soft and will get ground down in the gizzard pretty quickly, that's how they are able to absorb the calcium it supplies. It does not act as grit. I start putting it out when the hens start laying, they will take what they need when they need it, sometimes more, sometimes less.

Oyster Shells is considered a soluble grit and is sometimes called a soft grit, it works as a grit but will dissolve and get adsorbed into the digestive system unlike insoluble grit/ hard grits like granite and flint which simply get ground down and then passed.